🔗 Share this article French Appeal Court Uphighers Jail Time for Gisele Pelicot Rapist A man has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and received his prison sentence extended to a decade. Higher Court Case Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes. A jury 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 29 June 2019. The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state. We trust the court will declare that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured personally and not through someone else from a husband.” Background The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his then wife and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union. Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his verdict. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to 10 years. The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”. Testimony and Proof Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard. The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.” The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his conduct had been acceptable. The panel in the higher court was displayed video evidence of the victim's limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented. Defendant's Statements Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.” Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that individual.” Pelicot's Words The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds present to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.” The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.” Legal Commentary The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your situation.” Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.” The prosecutor said to Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.” Biographical Details Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him of home. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused. He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the original case.