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A man was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his jail term increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not transferred,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is received directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, 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, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a central issue for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that woman.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

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

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the process of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

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

The prosecutor told Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that annually he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.