🔗 Share this article French Higher Court Uphighers Sentence for Gisèle Pelicot Rapist A man has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period raised to a decade. Retrial Proceedings The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes. A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019. The court heard that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep. “We hope the court will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.” Background Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage. Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years. The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”. Courtroom Details Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed. The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.” The courtroom became a central issue for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his actions had been permissible. The panel in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril 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 The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated 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 influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.” Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that individual.” Victim's Response The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to back her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you agreement? Not once.” The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.” State's Argument Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your case.” The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.” Sie said to the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are endorsing.” Biographical Details Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness. He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that each year he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.