R&B-star R. Kelly uses his superstar status to systematically abuse young fans (some of whom were only children). He was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Wednesday for being exposed to.
A 55-year-old singer and songwriter spoke to a whistleblower last year who was wondering if his story was being ignored because he was a black woman. Convicted of singer and sexual trafficking.
Judge Ann Donnelly of the US District Court ruled after hearing from several survivors who proved how Kelly's exploitation had echoed throughout his life.
"You made me break my spirit. How low you made me feel, so I literally wanted to die," he joined hands. An unnamed survivor who spoke directly to Kelly with his eyes closed said downcast. "Do you remember that?"
Kelly did not speak in the judgment. There he was also ordered to pay a fine of $ 100,000.
"Violence, atrocities, control" cases, the judge said
"Sex was certainly the weapon you used, but it's about sex It's not a case, it's a case of violence, atrocities, and control, "Judge told Kelly.
Kelly's slow-motion dip, loved by her corps of fans and selling millions of albums, even after allegations of the abuse of young girls began to spread publicly in the 1990s. It concludes with this ruling.
Widespread anger at Kelly's sexual misconduct did not occur until MeToo calculated and reached Crescendo after the release of the documentarySurviving R. Kelly.
Kelly manipulated millions of fans to believe that the jury was someone other than the man he saw. Said the accuser.
The victim "has been asked and asked to be acknowledged," she said. "We are no longer the prey of the past."
The third woman, sobbing while she was speaking, was guilty of Kelly. The ruling said her confidence in the legal system was restored.
"I once lost hope," she said, and she addressed courts and prosecutors, "but you have restored my faith."
She said she sacrificed her after going to a concert when Kelly was 17 years old. situation. "
" Silence, "she said. "It's a very lonely place."
Lawyers wanted a more generous judgment
Kelly's lawyer said, "Serious and long-term child sexual abuse, traumatic with poverty." As an adult with "lack of literacy," he had insisted in court documents that he should be sentenced to imprisonment of up to 10 years because of his childhood, and violence. " "Often suffered fraud and financial abuse by those who paid to protect him," his lawyer said.
Grammy-winning singers selling multi-platinum include 1996 hitsI Believe I CanFlyand cult hits Trapped In the closet known for the song.
He was accused of sexual assault and sexual harassment in 1997 by a woman who was accused of sexual assault and sexual harassment, and was later charged with child pornography related to another girl in Chicago. I was asked. A jury there acquitted him in 2008 and he settled the proceedings.
Meanwhile, Kelly continued to sell millions of albums.
A Brooklyn Federal Court jury asks how he uses his manager and aides to meet a girl and keep her obedient. After that, he was found guilty. It is equivalent to a criminal company.
Born in Robert Sylvester Kelly, Kelly systematically "preys on children and young women for their sexual satisfaction," using his "fame, money, and popularity." The prosecutor wrote in a court filed earlier this month.
Some whistleblowers testified that Kelly exposed them to the sadistic whims of twisting them when they were minors.
The whistleblower was ordered to sign a nondisclosure agreement and claimed to have been threatened or punished, including violent spanking, for violating what was called "Rob's Rule." .. "
Some said they believed that their video recordings of having sex would be used against them if they exposed what was happening, teenagers. Forced the boy to have sex with a naked girl who emerged from under the boxing ring in the garage and shot a shameful video of a victim.
Aaliyah Marriage Plan
Kelly is just 15 After fearing that he might have conceived R&B singer Aaliyah in 1994, he was also presented with evidence of a fraudulent marriage plan that hatched to protect Kelly. In boxing suit matching. I got married and used a license that was mistakenly listed as 18 years old. I was 27 at the time.
Aaliyah created and produced his 1994 debut albumAge Ain't Nothing. However, ANumbershe died in a plane crash in 2001 at the age of 22.
Earlier defense memos promote Kelly's illegal marriage. By falsely claiming to have participated in the payment of bribes to government officials, he suggested the prosecutor's allegation that the higher sentence had gone too far.
Kelly's lawyer also suggested that his parents It is wrong to argue that he should take more time because he sexually abused one of the victims (called "Jane" in court) after entrusting him to help her musical career. Said that.
"Records show that Jane's parents instructed Jane to lie to her defendant about her age and then advised her to seduce him. "The paper said.
The Associated Press does not appoint people who claim to have been sexually assaulted or abused unless they have come out publicly.
Kelly has been imprisoned without bail since 2019. He faces child pornography and obstruction of justice in Chicago, where the trial is scheduled to begin on August 15.
