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A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his jail term extended to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the panel will declare that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher 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 on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

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

Victim's Response

The victim, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to support her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is maybe in the course of that, maybe driven by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was born in 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 violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father evicted him the family house. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that annually he looked for paid sex on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the original case.