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An individual was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

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

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We trust the panel will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is received directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting dozens of men to rape 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 culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The proceedings 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 engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to back her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? At no time.”

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

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is perhaps in the course of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was violent and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the first trial.