🔗 Share this article French Higher Tribunal Uphighers Prison Term for Gisèle Pelicot Perpetrator A man was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her husband – and has had his incarceration period increased to ten years. Retrial Proceedings Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes. A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019. The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state. “We hope the panel will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.” Background The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union. Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years. The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”. Courtroom Details The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the court heard. The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.” The proceedings 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 allowed him into the room, his actions had been justifiable. The panel in the higher court was shown video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not agreed. Defendant's Statements Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.” Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that woman.” Survivor's Statement The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.” Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.” Prosecutor's Remarks Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is perhaps in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your situation.” Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.” Sie said to the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.” Defendant's Background The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness. He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had told a evaluator that once a year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the anxiety of the original case.