🔗 Share this article French Higher Tribunal Increases Sentence for Gisele Pelicot Assailant An individual was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his jail term extended to ten years. Appeal Trial Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal. A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019. The court heard that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep. We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.” Case History The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union. Fifty other men were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years. The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”. Evidence Presented Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed. Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.” The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his actions had been permissible. The jury 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 the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a duration of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented. Accused's Testimony The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.” Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.” Victim's Response Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? Not once.” Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.” Legal Commentary Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is perhaps in the course of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your situation.” The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.” The prosecutor told Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are endorsing.” Personal History Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his father evicted him the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets. He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that annually he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the original case.