A French court today convicted jewel thieves who tied up and held American reality TV star Kim Kardashian at gunpoint in 2016 before fleeing with her $XNUMX million engagement ring and other loot, Reuters reports.
There were ten people in the dock accused of involvement in the Paris robbery.
Robbers wearing ski masks and disguised as police officers tied up the famous billionaire before fleeing with a ring, given to her by her then-husband, rapper Kanye West, and other jewels.
Kardashian traveled to Paris to testify earlier this month, telling the court she thought she was going to die.
A mixed panel of judges and a jury convicted eight of the ten people for crimes directly related to the theft, while another defendant was found guilty of illegal weapons. One person was acquitted.
The heaviest sentences were handed down to the five defendants who directly participated in the robbery, and the organizer of the robbery, 69-year-old Aomar Ait Kedache, received three years in prison.
The Associated Press (AP) reports that Chief Judge David De Pass said the age of the defendants - the oldest is 79 and the others are in their 60s and 70s - influenced the court's decision to impose sentences that he said were "not very severe".
He said that the nine years between the robbery and the trial were taken into account, so that harsher sentences would not be imposed.
The AP reports that Kedache, 69, who was the ringleader, received the harshest sentence, eight years in prison, with five suspended. Three others received seven years each, five of which were suspended. Three others received prison sentences of three to five years, mostly or entirely suspended, and one person was found guilty on weapons charges and fined.
The AP also states that given the time they have already served in pretrial detention, none of the convicted will go to prison and that all have been released.
Still, the chief judge said Kardashian was traumatized by the robbery at the hotel on October 2, 2016, during Fashion Week.
"You caused harm. You caused fear," he said.
Kim Kardashian's lawyers said she accepted the court's ruling.
"I am deeply grateful to the French authorities for pursuing justice in this case. The crime was the most horrific experience of my life, which left a lasting impact on me and my family. While I will never forget what happened, I believe in power and responsibility and pray for healing for all," she said in a statement.
During her court appearance, she said she had forgiven Kedache, who had asked for forgiveness in a letter.
The media dubbed the thieves "grandfather robbers" because many were of or near retirement age.
At the time, this robbery was considered the largest in France for more than 20 years.
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