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An individual has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

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

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, reached out to the victim's spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We expect the court will affirm that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town 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 the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to a decade.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless 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 recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared 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 tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by crowds gathered to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the process of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed 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 spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a mental health expert that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the first trial.