🔗 Share this article French Higher Tribunal Increases Sentence for Gisele Pelicot Rapist An individual was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his jail term increased to 10 years. Higher Court Case The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes. A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019. The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep. We expect the panel will declare that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not transferred,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not by proxy from a husband.” Case History The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union. Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his sentence. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years. The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”. Evidence Presented Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard. The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, 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 put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.” The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been acceptable. The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of the victim's limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed. Accused's Testimony The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.” Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.” Victim's Response The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? Not once.” The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.” State's Argument The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is possibly in the course of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.” The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.” Sie addressed Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.” Personal History Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of homelessness. He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.