🔗 Share this article French Appeal Tribunal Raises Jail Time for Gisele Pelicot Assailant A man was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and has had his jail term increased to ten years. Appeal Trial Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes. A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019. The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state. We trust the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not transferred,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.” Case History The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of many years of their union. Fifty other men were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his sentence. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade. The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”. Evidence Presented The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed. Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.” The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his behavior had been acceptable. The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan committed rape multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission. Accused's Testimony The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.” Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that woman.” Pelicot's Words The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.” The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.” State's Argument Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the course of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your case.” Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.” The prosecutor said to the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are supporting.” Biographical Details Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing 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 Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a evaluator that annually he sought paid sex on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had a medical condition resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.