🔗 Share this article

A man has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

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

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions 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 question that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

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

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to support her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is possibly in the course of that, perhaps motivated by the public consciousness brought by the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a evaluator that annually he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the original case.