🔗 Share this article French Appeal Court Increases Jail Time for Gisèle Pelicot Rapist A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period increased to ten years. Appeal Trial Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes. A jury of four women and five men, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019. The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state. “We hope the panel will affirm that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained directly and not through someone else from a spouse.” Context Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage. Fifty other men were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade. The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”. Testimony and Proof The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard. The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.” The trial became a central issue for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been justifiable. The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not consented. Dogan's Claims Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.” Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.” Victim's Response The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to back her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.” The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.” State's Argument The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is possibly in the course of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your situation.” The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.” The prosecutor told the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole sordid societal structure that you are endorsing.” Defendant's Background Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness. He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a mental health expert that each year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.