Only man to attraction in opposition to his conviction for raping Gisele Pelicot sees his sentence INCREASED
The only man to appeal against his conviction for raping Gisele Pelicot has seen his sentence increased.
Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, was the only one to have maintained an appeal after the first trial last year of 51 men, including Pelicot’s husband Dominique Pelicot, in the mass sexual abuse case.
On Thursday he was handed a 10-year prison term after a jury of nine people found him guilty of raping Ms Pelicot in her bedroom in the early hours of June 29, 2019.
A lower court last year sentenced the 44-year-old to a nine-year prison sentence after prosecutors had requested 12 years.
Dogan, a married father, made contact with her then husband in an online chat room where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his house and rape his wife while she was drugged.
Ms Pelicot told the court in the southern city of Nimes on Wednesday that Dogan had raped her and must ‘take responsibility’ for his actions.
Her lawyer, Antoine Camus, had told the court: ‘We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this country human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not delegated. Consent is obtained directly and not by proxy from a husband.’
An investigator on Tuesday said that images of the abuse found on Dominique Pelicot’s hard drive showed he had stayed at the house for at least ‘three hours and 24 minutes’ – not half an hour as he had claimed.
Gisele Pelicot told the court in the southern city of Nimes that Dogan had raped her and must ‘take responsibility’ for his actions
Pictured: Gisele Pelicot arrives at appeal trial for Husamettin Dogan in Nimes with her son Florian Pelicot
Sixteen other men withdrew their appeals after the initial trial, with Husamettin Dogan the only one now attempting to overturn his rape conviction
Footage shown to the court showed him penetrating an inert Gisele Pelicot.
Dogan avoided a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail, which would have put him on a par with Dominique Pelicot, who abused his wife and recruited dozens of strangers to do the same for almost a decade.
A panel of five judges issued the verdicts against Dominique Pelicot and his 50 co-defendants at the end of the trial last year in the southern city of Avignon.
Public prosecutor Laure Chabaud at the time had urged the judges in all cases to issue sentences that could be a ‘testament for future generations’.
The other men accused of abusing Gisele Pelicot received sentences ranging from three years in jail, including two suspended, to 15 years behind bars for a man who visited the Pelicot home six times.
Another man, who did not assault Gisele Pelicot but repeatedly abused his own wife with Dominique Pelicot’s help, was sentenced to 12 years.
Ms Pelicot on Wednesday called for ‘victims to never be ashamed of what was forced upon them’.
This is a breaking news story. More to follow.
