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A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her husband – and has had his jail term raised to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the panel will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that Dogan 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 consent.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was displayed visual proof of the victim's limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by crowds present to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the process of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture 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 the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that annually he looked for paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.