🔗 Share this article

An individual was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his conviction. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan performed assault multiple times over a period of what police said was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, 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 reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by crowds gathered to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness brought by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a court psychologist that each year he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the pressure of the original case.