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A man was convicted on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his jail term raised to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A panel of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We trust the panel will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not delegated,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his conviction. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

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

Victim's Response

The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by crowds gathered to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the process of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a evaluator that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.