🔗 Share this article French Higher Court Uphighers Sentence for Gisele Pelicot Assailant An individual was convicted on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period raised to 10 years. Retrial Proceedings Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes. A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019. The court heard that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state. We trust the panel will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not by proxy from a spouse.” Context Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union. Fifty other men were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years. The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”. Courtroom Details The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated. Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.” The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been permissible. The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by choking. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission. Dogan's Claims Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he convinced me.” Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that woman.” Pelicot's Words The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.” The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.” State's Argument Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is maybe in the course of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness brought by the exposure of your case.” The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.” Sie addressed Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are upholding.” 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 building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets. He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that each year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.