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An individual has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We expect the court will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his conviction. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

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

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is possibly in the process of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie told Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole sordid cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the residence. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that each year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.