🔗 Share this article

A defendant was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and received his incarceration period raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We trust the court will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not transferred,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is possibly in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie told the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid social system that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a evaluator that annually he sought paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.