Eight French “grandpa robbers” have been found guilty of the 2016 kidnap and robbery of Kim Kardashian in Paris.
A panel of three judges and six jurors in the Paris courtroom handed down guilty verdicts to seven men and one woman, according to The New York Times.
The court sentenced them to three to eight years in prison for various levels of involvement in an elaborate heist that involved binding the superstar influencer with zip ties and making off with $9 million worth of her jewelry – including a diamond engagement ring from Kanye West.
Another defendant was found guilty of a gun charge but not of involvement in the robbery, and one was cleared completely.
Their sentences were mostly or entirely suspended, The Times added.
Most of the defendants were in their late 50s and 60s when cops rounded them up in the months after the heist, using evidence such as DNA and wire taps to crack the case.
The accused became known in France as “les papys braqueurs” — the grandpa robbers.
After nearly ten years of delays in court proceedings, most of the robbers are now in their late 60s and 70s and suffering maladies including cancers, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s.
One suspect died before trial, and the alleged mastermind of the operation – Aomar Aït Khedache – was deaf, communicating with the court through written notes.
The 44-year-old Kardashian, on the other hand, was as resplendent as ever in the courtroom – a contrast to her gut-wrenching testimony about how she was thrown onto a bed, zip-tied, and had a gun pressed to her on the night of Oct. 2, 2016.
“I absolutely did think I was going to die,” she said. “I have babies. I have to make it home. They can take everything. I just have to make it home.”
She was dragged into a marble bathroom and told to stay silent.
When the robbers fled, she freed herself by scraping the tape on her wrists off against the sink, then hid with her friend, shaking and barefoot.
Khedache was already a veteran of the Paris criminal underworld when he organized the heist, and his DNA, found on the zip-ties used to bind Kardashian, cracked open the case.
Wiretaps captured him giving orders, recruiting accomplices, and arranging to sell the diamonds in Belgium.
The loot was never found.
Khedache claims he was only a foot soldier.
He blamed a mysterious “X” or “Ben” — someone prosecutors say never existed.
Khedache asked for “a thousand pardons,” communicated via a written note, according to French media. Other defendants also used their final words to express remorse.
Presiding judge David De Pas noted that “the sentences are fairly lenient,” due to the robbers’ advanced ages and poor health, but he admonished them all the same.
“You did harm,” the judge said.
