🔗 Share this article France's Higher Court Increases Sentence for Gisèle Pelicot Rapist A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period raised to 10 years. Retrial Proceedings The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes. A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019. The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep. We expect the jury will declare that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not given by another,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not through someone else from a husband.” Context The husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union. Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his verdict. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade. The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”. Testimony and Proof Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated. The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.” The courtroom became a focus point for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable. The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed. Accused's Testimony The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.” Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that individual.” Pelicot's Words The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.” The victim, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.” State's Argument Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the course of that, maybe motivated by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your situation.” The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.” Sie addressed Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are upholding.” Personal History The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness. He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a mental health expert that once a year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.