Nearly nine years after Kim Kardashian was bound, gagged, and robbed at gunpoint in a Paris hotel, a French court has found the ringleader and seven accomplices guilty in the high-profile 2016 heist.
None of those convicted will serve additional prison time. On Friday, a three-judge panel and six jurors delivered their verdict in a packed Paris courtroom. Eight men, including 69-year-old ringleader Aomar Aït Khedache, were found guilty of charges ranging from armed robbery and kidnapping to gang association. Two of the 10 defendants were acquitted.
Sentences varied: Khedache received eight years in prison, but five years were suspended, while three others got seven years, five of them suspended. With time already served in pretrial detention, none will return to jail.
Chief Judge David De Pas cited the advanced ages of the defendants—some in their 60s and 70s, the oldest at 79—and the nine-year gap between the crime and the trial as factors in the court’s leniency.
“You caused harm. You caused fear,” De Pas told the defendants.
The robbery occurred in the early hours of Oct. 3, 2016, as Kardashian was in Paris for Fashion Week. Dressed as police officers, the assailants forced their way into the Hôtel de Pourtalès, where Kardashian was staying.
They zip-tied her, held her at gunpoint, and made off with an estimated $10 million in jewelry, including a $4 million engagement ring. Most of the stolen items remain missing.
Kardashian, who was 35 at the time, described the ordeal in detail during her testimony earlier this month. “I absolutely did think I was going to die,” she told the court. “I have babies. I have to make it home. They can take everything. I just have to make it home.”
She recounted being thrown onto a bed, zip-tied, and dragged into a marble bathroom, terrified she would never see her children again.
After the robbers fled, Kardashian managed to free herself by scraping the tape from her wrists against the sink and hid with her friend, stylist Simone Harouche, until help arrived.
The trauma of the robbery has left deep scars. Kardashian told the court she can no longer sleep without multiple security personnel at home. “Now I have between four and six security [personnel] at home for me to feel safe. I can’t sleep at night if there aren’t multiple security people,” she said.
Paris, once a sanctuary for Kardashian, became a place associated with fear and loss, she said.
Forgiveness and Closure
Despite the trauma, Kardashian has chosen forgiveness.During the trial, Khedache, who can no longer speak, sent Kardashian a letter of apology, which was read aloud in court.
“I do appreciate the letter, I forgive you,” Kardashian responded. “But it doesn’t change the feelings and the trauma and the fact that my life was forever changed.”
Khedache replied, “Your forgiveness is a sunshine that has enlightened me ... I am forever grateful.”
Kardashian said that testifying was a step toward closure. “This is my closure. This is me putting this hopefully to rest, after being able to see everyone and thank the French judiciary system for figuring out this investigation,” she said.
A New Chapter
The verdict comes as Kardashian marks a new milestone in her life: completing a legal apprenticeship and becoming eligible for the California bar exam.Inspired by her late father, attorney Robert Kardashian, she has become an advocate for criminal justice reform, channeling her experience into efforts to help others.
