🔗 Share this article French Higher Court Uphighers Sentence for Gisèle Pelicot Assailant A man has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and has had his prison sentence raised to a decade. Higher Court Case Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes. A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019. The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state. We expect the panel will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured personally and not via a representative from a husband.” Background The husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union. Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years. The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”. Evidence Presented The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed. Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.” The trial became a focus point for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been acceptable. The jury in the higher court was presented with video evidence of the victim's limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission. Accused's Testimony Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.” Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that individual.” Pelicot's Words The survivor, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? Not once.” The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.” State's Argument The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the course of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness spurred by the revelation of your case.” Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.” The prosecutor said to Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are endorsing.” Defendant's Background The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the residence. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of living on the streets. He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that each year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.