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A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period extended to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not given by another,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his then wife and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images 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.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, 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 rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, contending 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 presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan performed assault multiple times over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers present to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the process of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out of home. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse 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 stated to a court psychologist that annually he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.