ADVERTISEMENTA French court found the ringleader and seven other members who were involved in the armed robbery of Kim Kardashian guilty, but did not give them a prison sentence.
The chief judge, David De Pas, said that the defendants’ ages and their health issues weighed on the court’s decision to impose milder sentences. He added that the nine years between the robbery and the trial was also taken into account.
The 69-year-old ringleader Aomar Aït Khedache received the stiffest sentence, eight years imprisonment but five of those were suspended.
Three others got seven years, five of them suspended. Three more got prison sentences ranging from five to three years, mostly or completely suspended, and an eighth person was found guilty on a weapons charge and fined.
However, with the time already served in pretrial detention, none of the defendants will have to sit out a further prison sentence.
The court acquitted two of the 10 defendents.
Almost a decade ago, a group dubbed the “Grandpa Robbers”, because of their age and long criminal histories, tied up the reality star at gunpoint and stole millions of dollars’ worth of jewellery.
Kardashian flew to Paris earlier this month to testify. The reality star had been alone in her luxury residence during the 2016 Paris Fashion Week, and said she believed she would have been raped, killed and would never see her children again.
On Friday, Khedache asked for “a thousand pardons,” communicated via a written note in court. Other defendants also used their final words to express remorse.
Kardashian’s lawyer Franck Berton told the Associated Press that Kardashian forgave the ringleader.
“I do appreciate the letter, I forgive you,” she said. “But it doesn’t change the feelings and the trauma and the fact that my life was forever changed.”
Kardashian was not present for the verdict, but her lawyers said she had accepted the court’s ruling.
The celebrity wrote in a statement afterwards that she was “deeply grateful to the French authorities for pursuing justice in this case.”
The crime was the most terrifying experience of my life, leaving a lasting impact on me and my family. While I’ll never forget what happened, I believe in the power of growth and accountability and pray for healing for all,” she added.
