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A man has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

“We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was initially 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 “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was presented with visual proof of the victim's limp body, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the midst of that, perhaps motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the first trial.