🔗 Share this article French Higher Court Increases Prison Term for Gisele Pelicot Assailant A man was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period extended to a decade. Retrial Proceedings Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes. A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019. The court heard that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state. “We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured directly and not by proxy from a spouse.” Background The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage. Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his verdict. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years. The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”. Evidence Presented The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed. The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.” The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been justifiable. The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of the victim's limp body, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a duration 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 state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented. Dogan's Claims The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he reassured me.” Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that individual.” Pelicot's Words The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? Not once.” The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.” State's Argument The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the course of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.” The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.” The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are upholding.” Biographical Details Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his father evicted him of home. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused. He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had told a mental health expert that each year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had arthritis caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.