🔗 Share this article France's Appeal Tribunal Uphighers Sentence for Gisèle Pelicot Perpetrator An individual has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his jail term increased to ten years. Higher Court Case The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes. A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019. The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had sedated 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 individual, not given by another,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not by proxy from a husband.” Background Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his spouse and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union. Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his verdict. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade. The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”. Testimony and Proof The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed. The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said 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 wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been permissible. The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed. Accused's Testimony The defendant told the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was violation. 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 brought him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.” Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.” Pelicot's Words The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? Not once.” The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.” State's Argument Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the course of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your case.” Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.” The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.” Biographical Details The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of being unhoused. He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that once a year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the first trial.