🔗 Share this article French Appeal Court Raises Prison Term for Gisele Pelicot Rapist A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to a decade. Appeal Trial Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal. A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019. The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state. We expect the court will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not via a representative from a spouse.” Background Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage. Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade. The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”. Courtroom Details The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated. Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.” The courtroom became a key topic for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible. The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a period of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not consented. Defendant's Statements Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.” Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that woman.” Victim's Response The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.” The victim, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.” Prosecutor's Remarks The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is maybe in the midst of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding spurred by the publication of your situation.” Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.” Sie addressed Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.” Personal History The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer 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 court heard his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.