Overview
- The inspection confirms significant organizational lapses that left a 2010 DNA match unexploited but says it cannot establish a judicial dysfunction because receipt of the report cannot be proven.
- The Service national de police scientifique linked Dominique Pelicot to a 1999 attempted rape, yet its notice was sent by ordinary mail to the Meaux court with no paper or electronic trace of arrival.
- Inspectors cite a 2010 reorganization at the Meaux prosecutor’s office, documented losses of case materials, and a letter addressed to a departed magistrate, underscoring broader vulnerabilities in FNAEG exchanges.
- Pelicot was formally placed under investigation only in October 2022 and was sentenced in December 2024 to 20 years in prison for the Mazan assaults.
- The IGJ issues seven recommendations to secure DNA reporting, victims’ representatives condemn the delays’ impact, and the defense argues the findings stop short of proving dysfunction.