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A man has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, connected with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not transferred,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's limp body, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a period of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the course of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his father evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that each year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had arthritis resulting from the pressure of the first trial.