Karim Benzema Sex-tape Scandal Verdict: Karim Benzema handed 1 year suspended prison sentence & a €75k fine after being found guilty of complicity in the act of blackmail of Mathieu Valbuena. Benzema, who had denied any wrongdoing, was not in court. He is due to play for the Spanish club against Moldovan side Sheriff Tiraspol later in the day.
Prosecutors had argued that Benzema had encouraged Valbuena to pay a suspected group of blackmailers in order to keep the sexually explicit tape out of the public eye.
🚨🚨| Karim Benzema handed 1 year suspended prison sentence & a €75k fine after being found guilty of complicity in the act of blackmail of Mathieu Valbuena. @GFFN
— Madrid Xtra. (@MadridXtra) November 24, 2021
The judgment from a court in Versailles — which found Benzema guilty of “complicity” in the affair — brings an end to a legal saga dating back to 2015, the case involved a sexually explicit video, which prosecutors said another defendant, Axel Angot, discovered on Valbuena’s mobile phone after he had been asked to transfer its contents to a new device. Angot and a third defendant, Mustapha Zouaoui, tried to use the video to extort money from Valbuena, who was then playing for Lyon and France. They enlisted another defendant, Youness Houass, before eventually turning to Karim Zenati, a childhood friend of Benzema, who prosecutors said recruited the forward as a “middleman.” Valbuena contacted the police, who began a sting operation.
According the French Football outlet GFFN: The Karim Benzema – Mathieu Valbuena sextape blackmail case verdict is 74 pages long. Presiding Judge during the proceedings told that Karim Benzema lied to investigators about a meeting with Mustapha Zouaoui. He further stated that Karim Benzema was not aware of all of the details of the attempted blackmail but did take part in the scheme & used deceit to attempt to achieve the goal, encouraged by co-conspirators.
President presiding over the Karim Benzema – Mathieu Valbuena sextape blackmail case has reached a verdict & is currently reading it out to the court. 74 pages long.
— Get French Football News (@GFFN) November 24, 2021
Karim Benzema will appeal the decision, according to his lawyer, who said “We are quite flabbergasted by this judgment. An appeal is necessary. He will be exonerated at the height of this appeal.”
🚨| Karim Benzema will appeal the decision, according to his lawyer:
“We are quite flabbergasted by this judgment. An appeal is necessary. He will be exonerated at the height of this appeal.” @GFFN
— Madrid Xtra. (@MadridXtra) November 24, 2021
Karim Benzema Sex-tape Scandal Verdict: It is a case that has tarnished both the careers of Benzema and Valbuena. The allegations against Benzema, which date to 2015, led to him being cast out of the French squad for five years before being brought back into the fold in May in time to play in Euro 2020. But even a guilty verdict would not likely lead to a further banishment, with French football federation president Noel Le Graet saying Benzema could keep his place in the national team even if convicted.
The Prosecutors are calling for him to be given a 10-month suspended sentence. A conviction would nonetheless cast a pall over a stunning comeback to the national team by the 33-year-old.
Benzema has scored nine times since being called back by France manager Didier Deschamps for the European Championship, making him the fifth-highest scorer in the history of Les Bleus. At club level also, Benzema is having a sensational season, putting him in the running for the Ballon d’Or, to be announced on November 29th, which selects the world’s greatest football player.
He will not be present in court in Versailles for the verdict in his trial, which will be announced a few hours before Real Madrid take on Sheriff Tiraspol in a Champions League game in Moldova. Valbuena, who plays for Greek club Olympiakos, will also be absent.
Karim Benzema set to face verdict in alleged “sex tape scandal”: What happened between Benzema and Valbuena:
Benzema was one of five people put on trial last month over the attempt to blackmail Valbuena with a sexually explicit video stolen from his phone.
Benzema is not accused of being behind the extortion attempt but rather of conspiring with the suspected blackmailers by putting pressure on Valbuena to pay them off.
The Lyon native claims he was only trying to help his fellow player when he approached him at the French team’s training centre in October 2015 and told him he could help him find someone to “manage” the issue of the video.
No money was discussed but Valbuena has described Benzema’s tone as “very insistent”.
After the conversation, Benzema phoned a childhood friend also being tried over the extortion attempt to say “he’s not taking us seriously” — remarks seen by the prosecution as proof of Benzema’s implication in the plot.
Testifying at the trial, Valbuena said the affair, which also cost him his place in the France team, left him feeling “frightened” and fearful for his career.
“Benzema is not a good Samaritan who just wanted to help out,” prosecutor Segolene Mares accused.
“No-one ever said he was kind… but that’s not a criminal offence,” the striker’s lawyer Antoine Vey told the court, calling for the case against the striker to be thrown out for lack of evidence.
Karim Benzema Sex-tape Scandal: Another of Benzema’s lawyers, Sylvain Cormier, portrayed the case as being driven by Valbuena’s “jealousy” of his former team-mate.
“His reasoning is simple: ‘Me, I was sidelined (from the team) and never brought back and declined in sporting terms while there is Karim Benzema who is flying high in global football’,” lawyer Sylvain Cormier told reporters.
Benzema’s impressive performances since returning to the French team have given him a new-found popularity with French fans. “He’s no longer the same person, he’s matured”, Deschamps said last month.
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