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Fallen R&B star R Kelly has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for sex trafficking and abusing young girls as judge tells him ‘the public has to be protected.’
Kelly, 55, was convicted on sex trafficking and racketeering charges last September following a nearly six-week trial that amplified accusations that had dogged the singer of the Grammy-winning hit ‘I Believe I Can Fly’ since the early 2000s.
Judge Ann M. Donnelly handed down Kelly’s sentence on Wednesday, despite the defense lawyers’ request for a sentence of 10 years or less. Prosecutors had asked for at least 25 years.
Judge Donnelly told Kelly he created ‘a trail of broken lives,’ adding that ‘the most seasoned investigators will not forget the horrors your victims endured.’
Kelly learned his fate after his accusers told the court, through tears and anger, that he had preyed on them and misled his fans.
He declined to make a statement prior to the sentencing because of pending litigation, his attorney said.
R Kelly and his attorney Jennifer Bonjean, left, appear during his sentencing hearing in federal court, Wednesday, June 29, 2022, in New York
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 whether their stories were previously ignored because they were Black women.
Kelly has been detained at Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since his trial. It has not been revealed where Kelly would spend his sentence.
He 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.
Earlier on Wednesday, several women who testified against Kelly during the trial spoke about how he had promised to mentor them and help them attain stardom, only to subject them to degrading sexual treatment and physical harm. Many said the abuse led to mental health problems that persist.
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’
U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly determined that federal guidelines allowed for a sentence of up to life in prison. Kelly’s lawyers sought 10 years or less.
They 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.’
As an adult with ‘literacy deficiencies,’ the star was ‘repeatedly defrauded and financially abused, often by the people he paid to protect him,’ his lawyers said.
The hitmaker is known for work including the 1996 hit ‘I Believe I Can Fly’ and the cult classic ‘Trapped in the Closet,’ a multi-part tale of sexual betrayal and intrigue.
Allegations that Kelly abused young girls began circulating publicly in the 1990s. He was sued in 1997 by a woman who alleged sexual battery and sexual harassment while she was a minor, and he later faced criminal child pornography charges related to a different girl in Chicago. A jury there acquitted him in 2008, and he settled the lawsuit.
All the while, Kelly continued to sell millions of albums.
The Brooklyn federal court jury convicted him after hearing that he used his entourage of managers and aides to meet girls and keep them obedient, an operation that prosecutors said amounted to a criminal enterprise.
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 a court filing earlier this month.
Several accusers testified that Kelly subjected them to perverse and sadistic whims when they were underage.
R Kelly faces several of his accusers during his sentencing hearing for federal sex trafficking at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse in Brooklyn on Wednesday
Seven of them delivered impact statements before he was 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.
The 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, who previously testified at Kelly’s trial but never gave her name, took several breaths before reading her statement Wednesday
Addie says Kelly sexually assaulted her on the night of his concert and did not see him again until the trial, adding that she regrets staying silent for decades
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.’
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
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.’
Sonja, also known as Jane Doe No. 3, was the final woman to speak on Wednesday before court broke for lunch.
She had previously testified at trial that she was imprisoned and raped at Kelly’s home in Olympia Fields, Ill. in 2003.
Prior to the hearing on Wednesday, she had emailed a statement to the court that she did not wish to read in full.
But she left the court with a few powerful words.
‘I was scared for my life,’ she said, recalling how Kelly would have people follow her every move over the years.
‘I hope and I pray to God that we can all heal,’ she said.
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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