🔗 Share this article French Higher Tribunal Increases Prison Term for Gisele Pelicot Rapist A defendant was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his jail term raised to a decade. Appeal Trial The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal. A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019. The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep. We expect the panel will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained personally and not via a representative from a husband.” Background The husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union. Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his verdict. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years. The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”. Courtroom Details The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed. The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.” The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been permissible. The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission. Dogan's Claims Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.” Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that lady.” Pelicot's Words The victim, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you permission? At no time.” Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.” State's Argument Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is maybe in the midst of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness brought by the exposure of your case.” Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.” The prosecutor said to Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.” Personal History The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of homelessness. He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a evaluator that once a year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the original case.