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A man was convicted on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

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

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the panel will affirm that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not given by another,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was violation. 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 brought him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. Society is maybe in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing social system that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was 17 he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the family house. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a court psychologist that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the original case.