Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on October 6, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Gisele Pelicot returns to court as one of 51 men convicted in her mass rape case appeals his verdict, sparking debate on consent in French law.
NIMES, France (Reuters) -Gisele Pelicot returned to court on Monday to face the only man, out of 51, who appealed his guilty verdict in a mass rape trial that shocked France and attracted worldwide attention last year.
Pelicot, 72, has become a feminist hero both at home and abroad for waiving her right to anonymity and standing up to her abusers in court, turning the trial into an examination of the pervasiveness of sexual violence.
Her case prompted deep soul-searching in France, spurring debate on whether to shift to a rape law based on consent and prompting the medical community to deepen its understanding of drug-facilitated assault.
Pelicot made no statement as she arrived at court and appeared composed. Several dozen people waited outside the court with banners showing her their support.
Dominique Pelicot, who admitted drugging his wife Gisele and over nearly a decade recruiting dozens of men online to rape her while she was unconscious, was sentenced to 20 years in jail. All of the Frenchman's 50 co-defendants were also found guilty of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault.
Among them, Husamettin Dogan, a former construction worker in his forties, was sentenced to nine years in prison on charges of aggravated rape. An appeals court in the southern city of Nimes will hear his appeal up until Wednesday.
His lawyer Sylvie Menvielle said her client believed he was participating in a libertine threesome for which he didn't know at the time Gisele Pelicot had not given her consent, so he could not accept the guilty verdict.
"He was facing someone who was acting with extraordinary manipulation and perversity," Menvielle told Reuters, referring to Dominique Pelicot.
In French criminal law, intent is crucial in assessing guilt.
(Reporting by Antony Paone, writing by Juliette Jabkhiro, editing by Richard Lough and Alexandra Hudson)
Mass rape refers to a situation where multiple individuals are involved in the sexual assault of one or more victims, often in a coordinated manner. It is a serious crime and a violation of human rights.
Consent in legal terms refers to the agreement by a person to participate in a specific act, such as sexual activity. It must be given voluntarily and can be withdrawn at any time.
A guilty verdict is a decision made by a judge or jury in a court of law that concludes a defendant is guilty of the charges brought against them, based on the evidence presented.
Sexual violence refers to any sexual act performed against someone without their consent. This includes rape, sexual assault, and other forms of coercive sexual behavior.
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