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A man has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

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

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the panel will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, 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 rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by crowds present to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the course of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that each year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis resulting from the pressure of the original case.