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A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and received his prison sentence extended to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is secured directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse 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 union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his sentence. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a duration of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied 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 brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the course of that, maybe motivated by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole disturbing social system that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs aged ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his father evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that annually he sought paid sex on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the first trial.