Man who appealed conviction for raping Gisèle Pelicot has sentence increased
A married father-of-three who challenged his conviction for raping Gisèle Pelicot has seen his sentence increased.
A man who challenged his conviction for raping Gisèle Pelicot has seen his sentence increased.
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The retired grandmother, 72, was drugged by her then-husband Dominique for over a decade and raped by dozens of men he recruited on the internet and brought to their home in the southern French village of Mazan.
Last year, Dominique was handed a 20-year jail sentence and will likely die behind bars.
Husamettin Dogan, 44, pleaded innocence despite graphic footage shown the court of appeal in Nîmes of him penetrating a motionless Gisèle.
The court rejected his appeal and extended his original nine-year jail sentence to ten.
Dogan - a Turkish-born married father - who was convicted of aggravated rape back in December was the only one to contest his charge.
The mass-rape trial - which garnered global attention - saw 50 men jailed alongside Pelicot.
One of the men, Jean-Pierre Marechal, has also been found guilty of raping his own wife with the help of Pelicot.
Like many of the others convicted, Dogan's defence was that he was not guilty of raping Gisèle because he did not realise she had been drugged by her husband against her will.
However, Dominique Pelicot himself - having been brought from jail - disputed this claim. He also apologised to his family.
Dominique Pelicot claimed Dogan knew Gisele was sedated and came to their home deliberately to abuse her.
Read more: Monster of Avignon Dominique Pelicot describes himself as ‘the devil’ in teary court appearance
Dogan insisted he believed she had consented to a sex game where she pretended to be asleep, reported The Independent.
“He had that information from the start,” Dominique Pelicot told Nimes Appeal Court.
“They all knew. They all came with the same intention.”
Dominique Pelicot also told the court in tears that he remains in solitary confinement, visited only by his lawyer.
His ex-wife attended the hearing alongside her son, Florian, 46. The first time she had seen her ex-husband since he was jailed.
In court, Dominique Pelicot also referred to himself as "the devil".
On Wednesday, Ms Pelicot gave her own evidence, saying she never gave her consent to Dogan.
“At what moment did I give you my consent?” Ms Pelicot asked, confronting Dogan. “Never.”
“Take responsibility for your actions and stop hiding behind your cowardice,” she said.
The ordeal inflicted over nearly a decade on Gisèle Pelicot in what she thought was a loving marriage, and her courage during the trial has transformed the retired power company worker into a feminist hero of the nation.
The scandal rocked France, bringing sexual violence against women into the spotlight and inspiring rallies in support of Gisèle Pelicot nationwide.
Gisèle's trial galvanised campaigners against sexual violence and spurred calls for tougher measures to stamp out rape culture.
Campaigners against sexual violence were hoping for exemplary prison terms and view the trial as a possible turning point in the fight against rape culture and the use of drugs to subdue victims.