🔗 Share this article French Appeal Tribunal Raises Sentence for Gisele Pelicot Rapist A man was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his incarceration period increased to 10 years. Higher Court Case Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal. A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019. The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state. We expect the jury will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not delegated,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not via a representative from a spouse.” Context The husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union. Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his verdict. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years. The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”. Testimony and Proof The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed. Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.” The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his actions had been justifiable. The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's limp body, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed. Dogan's Claims The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.” Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that lady.” Victim's Response Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters present to back her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.” The victim, seventy-two, 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 the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is perhaps in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the public consciousness brought by the publication of your case.” The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.” Sie addressed Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are upholding.” Defendant's Background The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused. He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the first trial.