🔗 Share this article France's Higher Court Increases Prison Term for Gisèle Pelicot Perpetrator A defendant was convicted on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his jail term increased to ten years. Appeal Trial Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes. A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019. The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state. We expect the panel will declare that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received directly and not through someone else from a spouse.” Case History The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union. Fifty other men were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years. The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”. Courtroom Details The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated. Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.” The trial became a central issue for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been acceptable. The jury in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission. Dogan's Claims The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he reassured me.” Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that lady.” Pelicot's Words The victim, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? Not once.” Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.” Legal Commentary The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the process of that, possibly motivated by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your case.” The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.” Sie said to Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole sordid cultural framework that you are upholding.” Personal History The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of living on the streets. He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that once a year he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the original case.