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An individual has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her husband – and received his prison sentence raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to support her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the course of that, maybe driven by the public consciousness brought by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out of home. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a mental health expert that each year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the original case.