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An individual has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his prison sentence increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

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

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the jury will declare that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a duration of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds present to support her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie told Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete sordid cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began using drugs aged ten. When he was 17 he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had told a mental health expert that annually he sought paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the original case.