🔗 Share this article France's Appeal Court Uphighers Sentence for Gisele Pelicot Rapist An individual has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence increased to ten years. Higher Court Case Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes. A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019. The court heard that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep. “We hope the court will affirm that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not transferred,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is secured directly and not through someone else from a husband.” Background The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union. Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade. The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”. Evidence Presented The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard. Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.” The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been justifiable. The jury in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission. Dogan's Claims Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.” Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that lady.” Survivor's Statement The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by crowds present to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.” The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.” Prosecutor's Remarks The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the course of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.” Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.” The prosecutor told Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.” Biographical Details The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had faced 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 court heard his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a court psychologist that each year he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition triggered by the pressure of the first trial.