John Galliano Found Guilty

After holding a seven-hour trial in late June — during which the designer testified — a Paris court today found John Galliano guilty of uttering racist and anti-Semitic comments in a Paris cafe.

Galliano, who as expected was absent from the today's hearing, was ordered to pay 13,500 euros ($19,031) in civil damages to three defendants, and was given suspended criminal fine of 6,000 euros ($8,443) — the latter he must only pay if he repeats the crime within the next five years. Prosecutor Anne de Fontette had called for a fine of no less than 10,000 euros ($14,100), while Galliano’s lawyer Aurelien Hamelle argued that his client should be acquitted. The maximum penalty in France for insulting someone on the basis of their origin, religious affiliation, race, or ethnicity is six months in jail and a fine of 22,500 euros ($32,000).

Hamelle said that he was not suprised by the verdict and Galliano just wants to put the whole episode behind him: "The court recognized he's not an ideologue, he's sick."