Kim Kardashian ‘Grateful’ Following Convictions for 2016 Paris Robbery

A French court found eight people guilty of robbing Kim Kardashian in her hotel room in 2016 on May 23, per the New York Times. The seven men and one woman — who, nearly ten years after the robbery, are all in their late 60s or 70s — were nicknamed the “Grandpa Robbers” by the French press. They were sentenced to three to eight years in prison. However, because of their age, nearly all their sentences were suspended, and none of the defendants will return to jail owing to their time already served. “The sentences are fairly lenient,” presiding judge David De Pas admitted during sentencing, per the Times. Two defendants accused of feeding the robbers information about Kardashian’s whereabouts were cleared entirely.

“I am deeply grateful to the French authorities for pursuing justice in this case,” Kardashian said in a statement, per NBC News. “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. I remain committed to advocating for justice, and promoting a fair legal system.”

Kardashian was not present for the verdict but testified in the trial on May 13. “I was sure that I was going to be raped,” she said during her testimony. “I absolutely thought I was going to die.” Many of the robbers showed signs of age and disease during the trial. Lookout Yunice Abbas’s hands shook from Parkinson’s, and defendant Didier Dubreucq missed court multiple times for chemotherapy sessions owing to lung cancer, per the Times. Prosecutor Anne-Dominique Merville told the court not to trust the robbers’ “reassuring wrinkles,” but, according to the Times, judge De Pas said that it would be “ethically” wrong to send the ailing men back to prison.

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