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A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and was given his incarceration period raised to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

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

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, 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 hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation 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 communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.