🔗 Share this article French Appeal Tribunal Uphighers Prison Term for Gisèle Pelicot Rapist An individual has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence increased to a decade. Retrial Proceedings Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes. A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019. The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state. “We hope the court will affirm that in this society, fundamental 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 by proxy from a spouse.” Case History Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union. Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years. The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”. Courtroom Details The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated. The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.” The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been acceptable. The panel in the higher court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a duration of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed. Defendant's Statements Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. 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 manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.” Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that woman.” Pelicot's Words Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.” Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.” State's Argument The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the process of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your case.” Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.” Sie said to Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.” Personal History Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the residence. He was incarcerated 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 educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a evaluator that each year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the original case.