🔗 Share this article French Higher Court Raises Jail Time for Gisèle Pelicot Rapist A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period raised to 10 years. Retrial Proceedings The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal. A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019. The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state. We expect the jury will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is secured directly and not by proxy from a husband.” Background The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage. Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to a decade. The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”. Testimony and Proof Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the court heard. The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.” The trial became a central issue for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his behavior had been justifiable. The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of the victim's limp body, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not agreed. Accused's Testimony Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.” Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that individual.” Pelicot's Words The survivor, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by supporters assembled to back her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? 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: “The shame should shift.” Prosecutor's Remarks Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the process of that, possibly driven by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your case.” Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.” The prosecutor said to Dogan: “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.” Defendant's Background Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused. He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.