🔗 Share this article

A man was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an digital platform named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is received personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by crowds gathered to support her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the process of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness brought by the publication of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his father evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the original case.