The aging gang behind one of the most infamous celebrity crimes of the decade, referred to by French media as the "Grandpa Gang," has just strolled from the prison not in cuffs but on compassionate policy grounds.
This week, eight suspects found guilty of robbing Kim Kardashian at gunpoint in 2016 during Paris Fashion Week will be released early from prison on account of their age and illness, a French judge has ruled. The crew, seven men and a woman, all now in their 60s and 70s, were ordered released by Judge David De Pas, who cited declining health and a low likelihood of reoffending.
For those who might not remember, Nearly nine years ago, during Paris Fashion Week, Kim Kardashian was alone in her private residence when a gang of men, pretending to be police officers, burst into the home. They tied her up with plastic cords, silenced her with tape, and put a gun to her head, then locked her in a bathroom while they ransacked the place for more than $10 million in jewels, a haul that included a $4.5 million ring, from then-husband Kanye West.
West, on stage, when he first received the news in New York, quickly ended his set at the Meadows Festival, apologizing to the audience: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's a Family emergency, and I have to stop the show."
The heist amazed the world not only for its boldness but also for the vulnerability it laid bare in celebrity existence. The trauma went deep with Kardashian. She had just appeared on May 13, 2025, to testify during the ongoing court case, reawakening the traumatic night one final time.
The 69-year-old Aomar Aït Khedache, the alleged ringleader, is deaf; his speaking ability is said to be impaired. Younis Abbas, 72, has Parkinson's and has had recent heart surgery. Didier Dubreucq, 69, is fighting lung cancer. Judge De Pas decided that time had already been served, and these severe medical conditions warranted an early release.
There is the humanity of not allowing sick, older adults to rot in prison. On the other will be Kim Kardashian, who lived through an ordeal of terror and trauma and watched in horror as her tormentors skated away free, the emotional scars of the night she was held hostage living on inside her.
Yet the justice system always walks a tightrope between mercy and accountability. In this particular case, mercy appears to have prevailed.
For the time being, at least, the "Grandpa Gang" may have swapped prison bars for pill bottles, but the scar from what they pulled off in that Paris hotel room won't be so easily forgotten, not for Kim, not for the public, and certainly not for history.
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