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A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and received his incarceration period extended to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a mental health expert that annually he sought paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the original case.