🔗 Share this article France's Appeal Court Raises Prison Term for Gisèle Pelicot Perpetrator An individual has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and has had his prison sentence raised to a decade. Appeal Trial Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes. A jury of four women and five men, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019. The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state. We trust the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.” Context The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union. Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade. The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”. Testimony and Proof Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated. The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.” The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been acceptable. The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not agreed. Accused's Testimony The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.” Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that woman.” Survivor's Statement The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.” Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.” State's Argument Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the course of that, maybe motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the publication of your situation.” The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.” The prosecutor told Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are endorsing.” Personal History The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of being unhoused. He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had a medical condition resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.