🔗 Share this article French Higher Tribunal Raises Jail Time for Gisele Pelicot Assailant A man has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period extended to a decade. Higher Court Case The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes. A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019. The court heard that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state. We trust the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured directly and not by proxy from a spouse.” Case History Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging 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 nearly ten years of their union. Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his verdict. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years. The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”. Testimony and Proof Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed. The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.” The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his conduct had been justifiable. The jury in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed. Accused's Testimony The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he reassured me.” Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that individual.” Victim's Response Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? Not once.” The victim, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.” Legal Commentary The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the course of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness spurred by the publication of your situation.” The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.” The prosecutor told Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid societal structure that you are upholding.” Personal History The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of living on the streets. He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a court psychologist that annually he sought paid sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.