Mass rape of Giselle Pelicot. Court extends sentence for rapist who called himself a “victim” and was the only one to appeal

On October 9, the French Court of Appeal increased the prison term for Husamettin Dogan, one of the rapists of Frenchwoman Giselle Pelicot.

Le Monde and The Guardian write about this.

Doganʼs initial sentence was nine years, but the appeals court increased it to ten.

Dogan, 44, was the only one to appeal after the first trial last year of 51 men in the case of the mass, years-long violence against Peliko.

One of the investigators told the court that videos of the violence found on the hard drive of Gisele Dominiqueʼs now-ex-husband showed that Dogan was in Pelicoʼs house for at least three hours and 24 minutes. The court was also shown videos of Dogan raping an unconscious Pelico.

Dogan himself claimed that he had no intention of raping her and that he was "set up" by Dominique Pelico in 2019. According to him, Dominique allegedly convinced him that he was participating in a marital sex game.

Dogan also called himself a "victim of manipulation" and called what happened "a sexual act, not rape". Gisele was outraged by such statements.

"You still donʼt understand. When are you going to admit that you raped me? Raping an unconscious woman is a crime. When did I give you consent? Never," she told Dogan in court.

• The Pelico rape case has been going on since 2020. At that time, 67-year-old Dominique Pelico was caught filming women up their skirts. During the investigation, police found evidence on his computer that he drugged his wife for almost a decade and recruited dozens of men online to rape her at home while she was unconscious. Giselle Pelico decided to go public with the case and became a new symbol of the fight for womenʼs rights.
• On December 19, 2024, Dominique Pelico was sentenced to 20 years in prison, and 50 other men were also sentenced.

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