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A defendant was convicted on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

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

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, reached out to the victim's then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We trust the panel will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not given by another,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to support her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had told a court psychologist that annually he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.