🔗 Share this article

A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his jail term increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We trust the panel will declare that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is received personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. 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 allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by supporters assembled to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the course of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a court psychologist that each year he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.