R. Kelly has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after being found guilty in his sex trafficking trial.
The disgraced R&B singer appeared at US District Court in New York today, 29 June, after several delays to the hearing. He had been facing a minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison.
Sentencing Kelly, Judge Ann Donnelly said he had used his ‘minions’ to ‘lure young fans into your orbit’.
Seven women were presented anonymously to give victim impact statements.
One of the women, who used the pseudonym Angela, told the court:
“With every addition of a new victim you grew in wickedness, cockiness, diminishing any form of humanity or self-awareness, which soon became the breeding ground for your God-like complex.
“We reclaim our names from beneath the shadows of your afflicted trauma.”
Another told Kelly: “You are an abuser, you are shameless, you are disgusting.”
After decades of rumours and allegations about sexual misconduct with minors, R. Kelly – real name Robert Sylvester Kelly – finally went to trial last year.
R. Kelly found guilty on ALL COUNTS
— US Attorney EDNY (@EDNYnews) September 27, 2021
Despite pleading not guilty, on 27 September, 2021, jurors in Brooklyn Federal Court found him guilty of nine sex crimes, including racketeering and sex trafficking.
Several of the 55-year-old singer’s accusers testified in detail during the trial without using their real names to protect their privacy and safety, alleging that he subjected them to perverse and sadistic behaviours when they were underage.
Alongside the testimonies, jurors were shown homemade videos of Kelly engaging in sexual acts that prosecutors said were not consensual.
Defence attorney Deveraux Cannick told jurors that his accusers were ‘groupies’, adding: “He gave them a lavish lifestyle. That’s not what a predator is supposed to do.”