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A defendant was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and has had his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an digital platform named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We expect the panel will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is received directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid societal structure that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a court psychologist that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the original case.