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An individual has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan 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 the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the court will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to 20 years 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 the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, 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 acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters present to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused 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 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking 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 child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that each year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had arthritis resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.