🔗 Share this article French Appeal Tribunal Raises Prison Term for Gisèle Pelicot Assailant An individual was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period extended to 10 years. Appeal Trial Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal. A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019. The court heard that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state. We trust the court will affirm that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not given by another,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is secured directly and not by proxy from a spouse.” Case History Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union. Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade. The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”. Testimony and Proof Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed. The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.” The trial became a focus point for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been justifiable. The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented. Accused's Testimony The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.” Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that woman.” Pelicot's Words The victim, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.” The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.” Legal Commentary The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the course of that, possibly motivated by the collective awareness brought by the publication of your case.” The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.” The prosecutor told Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.” Personal History Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the residence. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness. He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that once a year he sought paid sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the first trial.