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A man was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

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

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

The court heard that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom named “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence 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”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by choking. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by crowds present to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the course of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his parent 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 dealing drugs and his father evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that each year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the first trial.