🔗 Share this article French Higher Court Increases Jail Time for Gisèle Pelicot Perpetrator A man has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his jail term raised to 10 years. Appeal Trial The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes. A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019. The court heard that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state. “We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is secured personally and not through someone else from a husband.” Context The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union. Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years. The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”. Evidence Presented Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated. Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.” The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable. The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan committed rape multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not consented. Defendant's Statements Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.” Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that lady.” Survivor's Statement Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.” The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.” Legal Commentary Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is possibly in the course of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your case.” Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.” The prosecutor said to Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are endorsing.” Defendant's Background Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out of home. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused. He was wed and had a child with special needs, 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 extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.