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A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his jail term extended to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

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

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

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of the victim's limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a duration of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that lady.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by supporters assembled to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.