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An individual has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his jail term increased to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We trust the jury will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the midst of that, possibly driven by the collective awareness spurred by the publication of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the family house. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a evaluator that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had arthritis caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.