🔗 Share this article French Higher Tribunal Uphighers Jail Time for Gisèle Pelicot Perpetrator A defendant was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his prison sentence extended to a decade. Higher Court Case Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes. A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019. The court heard that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep. We expect the jury will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not transferred,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured directly and not by proxy from a spouse.” Background The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union. Fifty other men were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his conviction. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years. The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”. Testimony and Proof Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed. The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.” The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable. The panel in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a duration of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission. Defendant's Statements Dogan stated to the court the recordings 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 OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.” Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that woman.” Victim's Response The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.” Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.” Legal Commentary Sie, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is maybe in the course of that, possibly driven by the collective awareness brought by the exposure of your case.” Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.” The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.” Defendant's Background The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the residence. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused. He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the pressure of the initial proceedings.