🔗 Share this article French Appeal Tribunal Raises Prison Term for Gisele Pelicot Rapist A man was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his incarceration period extended to a decade. Higher Court Case The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes. A jury of four women and five men, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019. The court heard that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state. We trust the jury will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not via a representative from a spouse.” Background The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage. Fifty other men were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to a decade. The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”. Courtroom Details Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard. Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.” The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible. The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission. Accused's Testimony The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.” Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.” Pelicot's Words The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you agreement? At no time.” Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.” State's Argument Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the process of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.” Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.” Sie addressed Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.” Biographical Details The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of living on the streets. He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a court psychologist that annually he looked for paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the original case.