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A man was convicted on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his prison sentence raised to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had understood 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 proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was several hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

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

The prosecutor told the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing societal structure that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a court psychologist that once a year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the original case.