The 72-year-old grandmother heads back to the judicial arena in the wake of landmark case made her a feminist figure - yet tore her family unit

When she first appeared Gisèle Pelicot ascended the entrance of the judicial center in Avignon in last fall, she was an anonymous retired grandmother.

In a matter of weeks, this diminutive 72-year-old - the victim at the heart of the largest criminal proceedings in French history, including 51 men including her husband - had transformed into a feminist icon.

The final time she appeared in public when the rulings - every defendant found culpable - were announced in the final month of 2024. By then, groups of supporters were chanting her name.

This coming Monday Gisèle Pelicot comes back to court, this time in Nîmes, for the legal challenge of the only one of the multiple perpetrators to contest his prison term: the 44-year-old, middle-aged, a husband and parent of one.

The Trial Which Rocked France

Between September and December the previous year, the grandmother's disturbing story spread globally. Throughout multiple years, she had been sedated unconscious by her husband her spouse and assaulted by multiple men he had solicited on internet chat rooms.

Dominique Pelicot filmed the attacks and systematically organized them on a storage device, which allowed law enforcement to locate the greater part of the suspects implicated. Approximately twenty were unable to be traced and remain at large.

Subsequent to a trial lasting four months, 46 men were convicted of rape, a pair of attempted sexual assault and two others of sexual assault. The husband was handed the highest jail sentence of 20 years.

The Legal Challenge Process

The appellant's appeal next week will, practically, be a new trial. The footage of the survivor's violation will be shown in court anew, and Pelicot will be there – on this occasion, though, only as a participant.

While she is not required to, Gisèle as well will attend the hearings.

"All people would have accepted if she hadn't come as, frankly, she is trying to return to a regular existence," a member of her legal team, Stéphane Babonneau, informed. "But she considers she needs to be present and has a responsibility to be available through the completion of the legal process."

In December, the appellant was determined to be culpable of grave violation and sentenced to nine years in prison. Due to physical issues he was issued a delayed incarceration and is not currently in jail. He is allegedly appealing both guilty verdict and the term of his prison term.

Courtroom Tactics

Similar to the case for numerous of the other multiple perpetrators, the defendant's defence depended on the claim he was unable to be responsible of violating the victim because he had been unaware she would be incapacitated. The husband disputed this contention, saying he had clearly communicated to the men he enlisted via the internet that his partner would be sedated.

During his testimony last year Dogan did admit stating to Pelicot that his partner "looked dead". Still, he vehemently resisted against the allegations levelled at him. "I refuse to accept being labelled a sexual predator," he objected. "The burden is excessive a load for me to bear."

Even though 16 other accused as well at first lodged legal challenges, the appellant was the only one who has continued with it.

Relational Breakdown

During the legal process commenced in September 2024, she was supported by her all three adult children – her daughter, her son and the younger son. At present, the close relatives that entered the courthouse in autumn 2024 is no more.

One son and Caroline Darian have called themselves the "overlooked survivors" of the trial and in the coming days in the different city, the mother will only be accompanied by the younger child, the most junior of her offspring.

At the heart the familial division is a moment that rocked the court last November, when the survivor was asked about photos discovered on the husband's device showing their partially clothed daughter Caroline, appearing unconscious and sporting unusual garments.

Caroline Darian has always insisted the photographs demonstrate her