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A man has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and received his jail term extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his conviction. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The trial became a central issue for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters present to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you consent? Not once.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the course of that, maybe propelled by the collective awareness brought by the publication of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his father evicted him the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the pressure of the original case.