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A defendant was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his jail term increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

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

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the jury will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his verdict. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, 72, 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, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the original case.