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An individual was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and has had his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

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

A jury of four women and five men, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a central issue for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of the victim's limp body, sedated 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 judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to 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 never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that woman.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is possibly in the midst of that, possibly driven by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole disturbing social system that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had told a court psychologist that annually he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.