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A man has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his jail term increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

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

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

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an internet forum called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not transferred,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan performed assault multiple times over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled 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 assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is possibly in the course of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness brought by the exposure of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a evaluator that annually he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had arthritis resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.