14 M.C. v. BULGARIA JUDGMENT “Section 1: Rape (1) A person who coerces another into having sexual intercourse by the use or threat of violence shall be sentenced for rape to imprisonment for at least one year and at most six years. (2) A person shall also be guilty of rape if he/she takes advantage of the incapacity of another to defend himself/herself and has sexual intercourse with him/her, after rendering him/her unconscious or causing him/her to be in a state of incapacity owing to fear or another similar reason ... Section 3: Coercion into having sexual intercourse (1) If the rape, in view of the low level of violence or threat and the other particulars of the offence, is deemed to have been committed under mitigating circumstances, the offender shall be sentenced for coercion into having sexual intercourse to imprisonment for at most three years. (2) A person who coerces another into having sexual intercourse by a threat other than that referred to in section 1(1) shall be guilty of coercion into having sexual intercourse.” 94. Articles 222-22, 222-23 and 227-25 of the French Criminal Code provide: “Sexual aggression is any sexual assault committed by violence, coercion, threats or surprise.” “Any act of sexual penetration, whatever its nature, committed against another person by violence, coercion, threats or surprise, shall be considered rape. Rape shall be punishable by fifteen years' imprisonment.” “A sexual offence committed without violence, coercion, threats or surprise by an adult on the person of a minor under 15 years of age shall be punished by five years' imprisonment and a fine of 75,000 euros.” 95. The following information about French case-law on rape may be gathered from the authoritative publication Juris-Classeur (2002): (i) The words “violence, coercion, threats or surprise” are given a broad meaning in practice. For example, in one case it was stated that the fact that the victim was begging the perpetrator to stop, without further resistance, where she had previously agreed to enter his car and to be kissed by him, was sufficient to establish that there was rape (judgment of the Court of Cassation, Criminal Division (“Cass. crim.”), 10 July 1973, Bulletin Criminel (“Bull. crim.”) no. 322; Revue de Science Criminelle, 1974, p. 594, observations of Levasseur; see also, for an opposing view, Crim., 11 October 1978, Dalloz 1979. IR, 120). The victim's refusal may be inferred from the circumstances, such as paralysing shock, as a result of which the victim could not protest or escape (Cass. crim., 13 March 1984, Bull. crim. no. 107).