🔗 Share this article France's Higher Court Raises Sentence for Gisèle Pelicot Perpetrator An individual was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his incarceration period raised to a decade. Higher Court Case Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal. A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019. The court heard that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state. We trust the court will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is received personally and not through someone else from a spouse.” Context The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage. Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his verdict. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years. The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”. Evidence Presented Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed. The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.” The trial became a central issue for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his conduct had been permissible. The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was several hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented. Dogan's Claims The defendant told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.” Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.” Victim's Response Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.” 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.” State's Argument The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the course of that, maybe motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your situation.” The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.” The prosecutor told the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid cultural framework that you are supporting.” Defendant's Background The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of homelessness. He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a court psychologist that each year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the original case.