🔗 Share this article France's Appeal Tribunal Increases Prison Term for Gisele Pelicot Assailant A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his jail term extended to a decade. Appeal Trial Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal. A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019. The court heard that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state. We expect the panel will declare that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not by proxy from a spouse.” Context The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union. Fifty other men were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to a decade. The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated 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 Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed. The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.” The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been justifiable. The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not agreed. Dogan's Claims The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.” Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that woman.” Pelicot's Words Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds present to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.” The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.” State's Argument The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your case.” Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.” Sie said to the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid societal structure that you are supporting.” Personal History The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused. He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that once a year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.