🔗 Share this article French Higher Tribunal Uphighers Prison Term for Gisèle Pelicot Assailant A defendant was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period extended to a decade. Appeal Trial Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes. A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019. The court heard that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep. “We hope the jury will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is secured personally and not through someone else from a husband.” Background The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union. Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his verdict. He was originally sentenced 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 “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”. Evidence Presented The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard. The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.” The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible. The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not consented. Defendant's Statements Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.” Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that individual.” Survivor's Statement Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.” The victim, seventy-two, 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.” State's Argument Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is maybe in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your case.” Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.” The prosecutor told the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.” Biographical Details The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets. He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that each year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the original case.