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A defendant was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her husband – and received his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the court will affirm that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not delegated,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

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

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by onlookers gathered to support her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is maybe in the process of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the first trial.