R&B singer R Kelly has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for sexual trafficking and racketeering.
He was convicted in 2021.
The prosecutor’s office initially demanded a 25-year sentence for the singer. Kelly’s defense argues that he should be sentenced to no more than 10 years in prison, arguing that anything longer is “tantamount to the death penalty” for the 55-year-old.
U.S. District Judge Anne Donnelly handed down the verdict after seven of the victims of the disgraced singer made influential statements, recalling that they were abused by him.
“You made me do things that broke my spirit. I literally wanted to die because it made me feel, ”one of the victims told him.
Kelly was convicted on nine charges, including racketeering and violating the Mann Act, which prohibits the interstate transportation of women and girls for “any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a crime.”
The judge said during the verdict that “the public should be protected from behavior like this.”
“These crimes have been calculated and carefully planned and regularly carried out for almost 25 years,” she said. “You taught them that love is slavery and violence.”
She further said that she would have handed down the sentence regardless of the sentencing guidelines.
The victims describe numerous cases of violence they have suffered from Kelly.
One of the victims said that he used his celebrity to “cut” underage girls and boys.
“With each addition of a new sacrifice, you grew in wickedness,” said a victim named Angela. “You used your fame and power to prepare and train underage boys and girls for your own sexual gratification.
“Today we are regaining our names,” she said. “We are no longer the ones being persecuted by people we were before. I pray that God will reach your soul. ”
Kelly’s defense team tried to argue that he should receive a lighter sentence for his upbringing. They claim that Kelly was sexually abused as a child and grew up in a “chaotic home”.
“Mr. Kelly denies that he is this monster,” said Kelly’s lawyer Jennifer Bonjan.
Breon Peace, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, spoke to reporters after the decision.
“R. Kelly is a predator,” he said. “He continued to commit his crimes for almost 30 years and avoided punishment – to this day. These are the voices of mostly black and brown women and children who have been heard and believed. Justice was finally achieved. It is a victory for them, for justice and for the victims of sexual violence. Victims must be heard, perpetrators must be held accountable, and women and children must be protected. ”
He said he hoped the verdict would show that “no matter how rich [and] known ”a rapist must be brought to justice.
Kelly first faces accusations that she had sex with minors in the 1990s. He married singer Aaliyah in 1994, when she was just 15, ostensibly to ensure she would not be forced to testify against him in court.
He was charged in 2002 with alleged possession of images of child sexual abuse, but was eventually acquitted in 2008.
A new wave of charges against Kelly began after the #MeToo movement began to gain strength and successfully send strong rapists to prison.
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