Paris- A court of Paris declared the leader and seven other people guilty on Friday in the theft of Kim Kardashian in his residence in the French capital in 2016. However, none of them will face time in prison.
The court acquitted two of the 10 defendants. The sentences read by the President of the Court ranged from prison sentences and fines.
Aomar Aït Khedache, 69, the leader, received the most severe sentence, eight years in prison, but five of them are suspended. Three others who were accused of the most serious charges received seven years, five of them suspend.
With the time already fulfilled in preventive detention, none of the declared guilty will go to prison. The trial was heard by a panel of three judges and six jurors.
The main judge, David de Pas, said that the ages of the defendants, the older is 79 years old and some others are in their 60s and 70s, influenced the decision of the court not to impose more severe sentences that had sent them to jail. He said that the nine years between theft and the trial were also taken into account in the sentence.
Even so, he said that Kardashian had been traumatized by the robbery at his hotel.
“You caused harm,” he said. “You caused fear.”
1/8 | The protagonist The $ 1.5 million necklace that Kim Kardashian led to the trial in Paris. Kim Kardashian arrived on Tuesday to the Paris court with an impressive diamond necklace valued at $ 1.5 million that did not go unnoticed despite its sober look. – The Associated Press
Kardashian, who was not present for the verdict, issued a statement after the decision was announced.
“I am deeply grateful to the French authorities for seeking justice in this case,” he said. “The crime was the most terrifying experience of my life, leaving a lasting impact on me and my family. While I will never forget what happened, I believe in the power of growth and responsibility and praying for the healing of all. I remain committed to advocating justice and promoting a fair legal system.”
Khedache arrived at the court walking with a cane, with his hidden face of the cameras. His DNA, found in the tapes that were used to tie Kardashian, was a key advance that helped solve the case.
Telephone listeners captured him by giving orders, recruiting accomplices and organizing the sale of diamonds in Belgium. A cross with diamond inlays, which fell during the flight, was the only jewel that recovered.
The crime took place on the night of October 2, 2016 during Paris Fashion Week. The thieves, dressed as police officers, broke into the glamorous Hôtel de Poultalès, tied Kardashian with flanges and escaped with their jewels, a robbery that would force celebrities to reconsider how they live and protect themselves.
The defendants became known in France as “Les Papys Braqueurs”, or grandparents thieves. Some arrived at the court with orthopedic shoes and one leaned on a cane. But prosecutors warned observers not to be fooled.
The defendants faced charges that include armed robbery, kidnapping and illicit association.
1 /11 | Kim Kardashian testifies in trial for jewelry theft: “They were going to shoot me.” The American celebrity Kim Kardashian arrived at the Palace of Justice of Paris to declare as part of the trial against the suspects of 2016’s armed robbery against her, in Paris, France. – EFE agency
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Khedache had said he was just a satin soldier. He blamed a mysterious “X” or “Ben”, someone who prosecutors say he never existed.
His lawyer advocated clemency, pointing out one of the most visceral moments of the trial: Kardashian’s previous encounter in the courtroom with the man accused of orchestrating his terrible experience. Although he was not present on Friday, his words, and the memory of that moment, still resonated.
“She looked at him when he arrived, heard the letter he had written to him, and then forgave him,” said lawyer Franck Berton to The Associated Press.
Kardashian, typically protected by security and show, had made visual contact with Khedache while reading the letter aloud.
“I appreciate the letter, I forgive you,” he said. “But it does not change feelings and trauma and the fact that my life changed forever.”
A sensationalist crime had become something raw and human.
Khedache on Friday requested “a thousand forgives,” communicated through a note written in the Court. Other defendants also used their last words to express remorse.
Paris was once a sanctuary for Kardashian
Kardashian’s testimony earlier this month was the culminating emotional point. In a crowded court, she reported how they threw her into a bed, tied her with flanges and pointed her with a weapon on the night of the robbery.
“I definitely thought I was going to die,” he said. “I have babies. I have to get home. They can take everything. I just have to get home.”
They dragged her into a marble bath and told her to stay quiet. When the thieves fled, he freed himself scraping the tape of his dolls against the sink, then hid with his friend, trembling and barefoot.
He said that Paris had once been his sanctuary, a city for which he roamed at 3 am, buying in stores, stopping to drink hot chocolate. That illusion became shatter.
Privacy became a luxury
The robbery echoed far beyond the city of light. Forced a recalibration of celebrity behavior in the Instagram era. For years, Kardashian had cured his life as an exhibition room: geolocalized, illuminated with diamonds, public by design. But this was the moment when the exhibition hall became a crime scene. In his words, “People were looking … they knew where I was.”
Then, he stopped publishing his location in real time. Luxurious gifts eliminated from his feed from social networks and disappeared from Paris for years. Other stars did the same. Privacy became a luxury.
Even for the standards of the deliberately slow legal system of France, the case took years to reach trial.
