Coin Press - Gisele Pelicot says 'never' gave consent to accused rapist

The 72-year-old's former husband has admitted to drugging her with sedatives and inviting dozens of strangers to rape and abuse her over nearly a decade in a case that shocked the world.

A French court handed her ex-husband Dominique Pelicot, 72, the maximum term of 20 years in jail last year. He and 49 other men convicted in the case are not appealing their sentences.

But one man, 44-year-old Husamettin Dogan, has maintained his innocence, drawing the woman who publicly defied her abusers back into court.

At the beginning of the original trial, she famously argued that it should be the perpetrators of sexual violence, not the victims, who should be ashamed.

Pelicot has been greeted with applause at each of her arrivals in court since the trial opened earlier this week in the southern city of Nimes.

On Wednesday, she confronted Dogan in court.

"At what moment did I give you my consent?" Pelicot asked. "Never."

"Take responsibility for your actions and stop hiding behind your cowardice," she added.

- 'Never forced anyone' -

Investigators found a total of 107 photos and 14 videos from the night Dogan visited the couple's home in 2019 on a hard drive belonging to Dominique Pelicot.

Some of that footage, which shows Dogan penetrating an inert Gisele Pelicot and also trying to force her to perform oral sex on him, was shown to the court on Wednesday before she took the stand.

In the videos, the two men whisper to avoid waking her.

Despite the video evidence, Dogan, who was sentenced to nine years in prison for rape at the original trial, defended himself in court Wednesday.

He repeated his version of events, trying to shift the blame onto Pelicot's former husband, saying he felt "trapped".

"I wanted to stop. At one point, I became very suspicious. I continued because he reassured me," Dogan said.

"He's the manipulator, not me. He's the one who lured me there," he added.

On Tuesday, Dominique Pelicot told the court that Dogan had been a willing participant in his scheme.

"I never forced anyone," he said.

Dominique Pelicot said that Dogan knew his wife would be "asleep".

- '3 hours and 24 minutes' -

Gisele Pelicot would have preferred to focus on her future, one of her lawyers, Antoine Camus, told AFP.

But she remained "astounded by the (defendant's) continued denial, despite the material evidence", her lawyer said.

"She needs to see this through to the end," he added.

On Tuesday, Jeremie Bosse-Platiere, the police officer who led the investigation into the case, also attacked Dogan's arguments, citing the video footage.

"I have no doubt that he was fully aware of the victim's condition," he said.

The police commissioner described a video in which Gisele Pelicot was seen moving slightly and Dogan immediately moving away.

"We understand that he is worried that his victim might wake up and freezes in a waiting position," said Bosse-Platiere.

He risks a maximum of 20 years in jail.

The verdict is expected on Thursday.

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A.Agostinelli--CPN