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An R. Kelly victim slammed the R&B star in court on Wednesday for ‘using fame and power to groom’ children for his ‘own sexual gratification’ ahead of his sentencing where he faces life behind bars
Kelly, 55, is being sentenced today in Brooklyn federal court. He was found guilty of racketeering and violating an anti-sex trafficking law known as the Mann Act last year that was seen as a signature moment in the #MeToo movement.
Several of Kelly’s victims, including some who testified at his trial last year, are delivering impact statements before he is sentenced.
One of the victims, Angela, stood in court, looked directly at Kelly and called him a ‘Pied Piper’ who ‘lured children with his money and celebrity.’
‘With every addition of a new victim, you grew in wickedness,’ she said. ‘You used your fame and power to groom and coach underage boys and girls for your own sexual gratification.’
‘Today we reclaim our names,’ she said. ‘We are no longer the preyed-upon individuals we once were.’
‘I pray that god reaches your soul,’ she said, as Kelly glanced up at her briefly before lowering his eyes back to the table where he sat.
Prosecutors are seeking a minimum of 25 years, while the defense says a sentence of 10 years or less is all he deserves.
R. Kelly and his attorney Jennifer Bonjean, left, appear during his sentencing hearing in federal court, Wednesday, June 29, 2022, in New York
Kitti Jones, wipes her tears as she gave her statement on Wednesday at R. Kelly’s sentencing hearing, and said that Kelly did things to her that she ‘plans to take to my grave’
A second victim to speak in court on Wednesday said she never knew that a concert in September of 1994 would change her life forever.
Addie, who previously testified at Kelly’s trial but never gave her name, took several breaths before reading her statement Wednesday.
‘I never knew that going to that concert in September of 1994 was going to change me forever,’ she said.
Addie said she was a fan of the singer Aaliyah. Aaliyah, who R Kelly married when she was 15, died in a plane crash at age 22.
Addie says Kelly sexually assaulted her on the night of his concert and did not see him again until the trial.
For decades, she stayed silent, because ‘it was a time of silence,’ she said, which is something she says she now regrets.
‘The last four years have been a rude awakening of how my silence has hurt others.’
Kelly has been detained at Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since his trial. It is not been revealed where Kelly would spend his sentence.
Kelly is still set to stand trial in Chicago on charges of child pornography and obstruction of justice. He also faces charges in Minnesota and federal charges of pornography and obstruction in Illinois.
AT TRIAL IN 2021: Witness ‘Angela,’ a backup dancer for R. Kelly, testified during his sex abuse trial last year. At his sentencing on Wednesday, Angela returned to give an impact statement
Lizette Martinez, one of the women featured in the docuseries ‘Surviving R. Kelly,’ delivered a statement at R. Kelly’s sentencing hearing in Brooklyn on Wednesday. Pictured: Martinez speaking at screening in 2019
Jones claims that in March of that year Kelly brought another of his girlfriend’s over to where he was keeping her and forced her to perform oral sex on Jones. Around that time she claims Kelly also started forcing her to have intercourse with other women – and says he would threaten her if she said no
Outrage over Kelly’s sexual misconduct with young women and children was fueled in part by the widely watched docuseries ‘Surviving R. Kelly,’ which gave voice to accusers who wondered if their stories were previously ignored because they were Black women.
At Kelly’s sentencing on Wednesday, one of the women featured in the docuseries, Lizette Martinez, spoke to the court with attorney Gloria Allred by her side.
‘January 1995 eventually changed me forever,’ Martinez said, referring to the day she met Kelly at a mall.
Martinez, 17, was an aspiring singer and Kelly had promised to mentor her. But Martinez says he started abusing her two months after they met.
‘I was left in shock, confused and in tears,’ she said.
‘I do not know how to put a price on all I’ve gone through. I am now 45, a mother and I struggle with mental health.’
Kelly did not look at Kelly Martinez as she spoke.
‘Robert, you destroyed so many people’s lives,’ she told him.
A fourth victim, identified as Jane Doe No. 2, addressed the court next, detailing how a sweaty Kelly would make her perform oral sex on him after he had returned from playing basketball.
‘I felt special, because someone who was special to the world was interested in me,’ she said.
As she continued on with her statement, Kelly began to speak with his lawyers prompting the witness to stop and hold up her hand.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said, looking at Kelly. ‘I don’t want to interrupt his conversation.’
‘No price is too high to pay for your happiness,’ she said. ‘I hope you go to jail for the rest of your life.’
The next woman, Kitti Jones, said that Kelly did things to her that she ‘plans to take to my grave.’
A fifth woman to speak, Kitti Jones, said that Kelly did things to her that she ‘plans to take to my grave.’
‘Many of us have been waiting for this day to come,’ she added.
The next woman to give her statement, only identified as Faith, spoke directly to Kelly, with her father by her side.
‘I hope you forgive yourself,’ she said as she began to cry. ‘I forgive myself.’
Her father then addressed the court.
‘I didn’t come here to bash Mr. Kelly,’ he said. ‘I do want to ask you, Mr. Kelly, to look at me, man to man, father to father. Put yourself in my shoes. I’ve certainly put myself in your shoes.’
R Kelly’s sisters Cassandra and Lisa arrived at Brooklyn federal court on Wednesday for the R&B star’s sentencing hearing. The third sister did not give name
US attorney Gloria Allred arrives for the sentencing hearing of US singer R. Kelly
Gloria Allred, who is representing the three women who testified against R Kelly, told reporters on Wednesday that ‘no one can undo the harm that has been done to these victims.’
U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly is set to impose the sentence at a federal court in Brooklyn after hearing statements from victims and possibly Kelly himself.
‘He’s strong, and we are going to get through this,’ defense lawyer Jennifer Bonjean said on her way into court. Whatever his sentence, Kelly is hopeful his conviction will be overturned on appeal, she said.
Prosecutors are seeking a minimum 25-year term, while the defense says a sentence of 10 years or less is all he deserves.
Kelly’s lawyers argued in court papers he should get a break in part because he ‘experienced a traumatic childhood involving severe, prolonged childhood sexual abuse, poverty, and violence.’
Attorney for R. Kelly, Jennifer Bonjean, arrives for the sentencing hearing of R. Kelly at Brooklyn Federal Court in New York, on June 29, 2022
Kelly, born Robert Sylvester Kelly, used his ‘fame, money and popularity’ to systematically ‘prey upon children and young women for his own sexual gratification,’ prosecutors wrote in their filing earlier this month.
But Kelly’s lawyers argued in court papers he should get a break in part because he ‘experienced a traumatic childhood involving severe, prolonged childhood sexual abuse, poverty, and violence.’
Outrage over Kelly’s sexual misconduct with young women and children was fueled in part by the widely watched docuseries Surviving R Kelly, which gave voice to accusers who wondered if their stories were previously ignored because they were black women.
Kelly said over 14 hours of interviews with psychiatric experts that his closest relationship growing up was with his mother Joanne.
He recalled watching her perform with her band Six Pack and going to McDonald’s in fond memories of his childhood.
The singer never met his father and said his mother’s death was the most tragic event of his life, and he would frequently visit McDonald’s later to smell the coffee and remember her, Renee Sorrentino, a clinical assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, said in a letter.
The future R&B star also saw his childhood sweetheart drown when he was a child, and multiple people claimed he was repeatedly abused when he was aged six or seven.
His attorney claims his older sister and a landlord abused him on a ‘weekly basis’, and this may have contributed to his ‘hypersexuality’, Sorrentino claims.
U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly is set to impose the sentence today at a federal court in Brooklyn after hearing statements from victims and possibly Kelly himself.
They added: ‘His victimization continued into adulthood where, because of his literacy deficiencies, the defendant has been repeatedly defrauded and financially abused, often by the people he paid to protect him.’
The jury convicted the I Believe I Can Fly hitmaker after hearing about how he used his entourage of managers and aides to meet girls and keep them obedient, an operation prosecutors said amounted to a criminal enterprise.
Several accusers testified that Kelly subjected them to perverse and sadistic whims when they were underage.
The accusers alleged they were ordered to sign nondisclosure forms and were subjected to threats and punishments such as violent spankings if they broke what one referred to as ‘Rob’s rules.’
The prosecution team arrives for the sentencing hearing of US singer R. Kelly
Media gathers in front of Brooklyn Federal Court for the sentencing hearing of R. Kelly on Wednesday as the singer is to be sentenced on sex trafficking charges
R Kelly faces up to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced for sex trafficking today at a federal court in New York (pictured in 2019)
Some said they believed the videotapes he shot of them having sex would be used against them if they exposed what was happening.
According to testimony, Kelly gave several accusers herpes without disclosing he had an STD, coerced a teenage boy to join him for sex with a naked girl who emerged from underneath a boxing ring in his garage, and shot a shaming video of one victim showing her smearing feces on her face as punishment for breaking his rules.
Evidence also was presented about a fraudulent marriage scheme hatched to protect Kelly after he feared he had impregnated R&B phenom Aaliyah in 1994 when she was just 15. Witnesses said they were married in matching jogging suits using a license falsely listing her age as 18; he was 27 at the time.
Aaliyah worked with Kelly, who wrote and produced her 1994 debut album, ‘Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number.’ She died in a plane crash in 2001 at age 22.
An earlier defense memo suggested prosecutors’ arguments for a higher sentence overreached by falsely claiming Kelly participated in the paying of a bribe to a government official in order to facilitate the illegal marriage.
Kelly’s lawyers also said it was wrong to assert he should get more time because he sexually abused one of his victims — referred to in court as ‘Jane’ — after her parents innocently entrusted him to help her with her musical career.
‘The record shows that Jane’s parents directed Jane to lie to the defendant about her age and then encouraged her to seduce him,’ the papers say.
Kelly has been jailed without bail since in 2019. He’s still facing child pornography and obstruction of justice charges in Chicago, where a trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 15.
The R&B star, 55, was found guilty of racketeering and other counts last year at a trial that was seen as a signature moment in the #MeToo movement (pictured in 2015)
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