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A man was convicted on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his jail term raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the court will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his conviction. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's limp body, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you permission? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding brought by the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

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

Personal History

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a evaluator that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the first trial.