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A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her husband – and received his jail term increased to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not delegated,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his verdict. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

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

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a focus point for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault multiple times over a period of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the course of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid social system that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a evaluator that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis resulting from the anxiety of the original case.