🔗 Share this article France's Appeal Tribunal Uphighers Jail Time for Gisele Pelicot Perpetrator An individual has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence raised to ten years. Higher Court Case Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes. A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019. The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state. We expect the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured personally and not via a representative from a spouse.” Context The husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage. Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his verdict. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years. The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”. Testimony and Proof The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed. Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.” The proceedings became a central issue for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been permissible. The panel in the higher court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not agreed. Defendant's Statements Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.” Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.” Pelicot's Words Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you agreement? At no time.” The victim, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.” Legal Commentary The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the process of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness brought by the exposure of your ordeal.” Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.” The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.” Biographical Details The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets. He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a mental health expert that once a year he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the original case.