🔗 Share this article French Higher Court Raises Prison Term for Gisele Pelicot Rapist A man was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and has had his prison sentence raised to ten years. Appeal Trial The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes. A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019. The court heard that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state. “We hope the jury will declare that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not transferred,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is received personally and not through someone else from a husband.” Context Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union. Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years. The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”. Testimony and Proof Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated. The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.” The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable. The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented. Defendant's Statements The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.” Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that individual.” Victim's Response The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to support her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.” The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.” Legal Commentary The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the course of that, perhaps motivated by the societal understanding brought by the revelation of your ordeal.” The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.” The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.” Personal History Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the family house. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of homelessness. He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the first trial.