R Kelly ‘did terrible things to children’, victim says after sentencing
R&B singer R Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison after a conviction in federal court last year on sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
When the disgraced singer appeared in court on Wednesday, he remained silent after hearing from some of his accusers who gave victim testimonies about their experiences with the singer.
Prosecutors had asked that R Kelly be behind bars for more than 25 years to protect “the public” from the “I Believe I Can Fly” singer. He was found guilty on nine counts last September, including one count of racketeering and eight counts of Mann Act violations.
Gloria Allred, who represented the three women who testified against R. Kelly, told reporters that “no one can undo the damage done to these victims,” which his attorney denied.
The acting deputy director of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), meanwhile, who announced Kelly’s conviction, called the singer a “prolific serial predator who used his wealth and fame to prey on the young and vulnerable by earning fame, fortune and fame for… his own sexuality promised satisfaction.”
Important points
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ICYMI: What was R Kelly convicted of?
The disgraced R&B singer faced a string of allegations before being found guilty in September of charges including extortion and sexual exploitation of a child and sex trafficking.
Kelly, whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, sat motionless when he was convicted of those charges last year. He was also silent when he announced his verdict on Wednesday.
Oliver O’Connell1. July 2022 09:30
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Opinion: R Kelly’s decades of abuse tells a story that never ends
“Wealth, power, racism and misogyny have protected the R&B star, and we’re a long way from dismantling the culture that allows for predators and abusers,” he writes Fiona Sturges in the opinion piece below:
Oliver O’Connell1. July 2022 07:30
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Richter says ‘horror’ is ‘no price too high’
“The horrors your victims endured,” US District Judge Ann Donnelly said during Wednesday’s sentencing hearing. “No price was too high for your happiness.”
According to trial testimony, R Kelly indicated that several of his victims were minors at the time of their encounters with the singer, who denied having ordered his accusers to sign non-disclosure forms (aka NDAs).
“Boys and girls” were allegedly threatened and fined if they broke what they called the “rob rules,” prosecutors heard during his trial last year.
The R&B singer has also been accused of making “shameful videos” of his victims.
Additional coverage from the Associated Press
Oliver O’Connell1. July 2022 05:30
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Opinion: R Kelly’s prison sentence is the least men like him deserve
“Something is very, very rotten in the cult of male celebrity,” writes The Independent’s Victoria Richards in the opinion piece below.
“Because it doesn’t end with the abuse. This behavior has a ripple effect that lasts for decades; not just for the victims themselves, but for anyone who sees what such men can get away with for so long – and assume they can too.”
Oliver O’Connell1. July 2022 04:30
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The conviction is a product of the MeToo movement
R. Kelly’s 30-year prison sentence is another triumph for women’s rights activists and a product of the MeToo movement.
Allegations of sexual misconduct against R. Kelly first surfaced with the rise of the “MeToo” movement on Twitter in 2006, when several women claimed they had been molested by high-profile male figures.
Allegations against Kelly reached a tipping point in 2019 following the release of the documentary Surviving R. Kelly, after which state judges charged him with aggravated criminal sex abuse charges.
Federal prosecutors then charged the R&B singer with sex trafficking and racketeering, and his trail took place last year, where he was found guilty.
Oliver O’Connell1. July 2022 03:30
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The verdict is justice for black women
R Kelly’s victims believed their stories were initially ignored because they were black women.
When he was sentenced in court on Wednesday, an unnamed survivor said, “Up until this moment, there hasn’t been a day in my life that I really believed that the justice system for black girls and brown girls would pull through.”
Prosecutors had heard from women who told the court how the R&B singer forced them into “obedience” and other “acts of horror.”
“I hope this conviction serves as a testament in its own right that it doesn’t matter how powerful, rich or famous your abuser is, or how small you feel – the judiciary only hears the truth,” US Attorney Breon Peace told the Associated press reported.
Oliver O’Connell1. July 2022 02:30
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ICYMI: R Kelly sentenced to 30 years in prison for sex trafficking and racketeering
R&B singer R Kelly has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for sex trafficking and extortion.
He was sentenced in 2021.
Oliver O’Connell1. July 2022 01:30
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‘R Kelly used his fame, fortune and enablers to prey on the young, the vulnerable and the voiceless,” the attorney said
Breon Peace, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, who announced R Kelly’s 30-year sentence on Wednesday, along with Steve K. Francis, acting executive associate director, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), said that the singer “has used his fame, fortune and enablers to exploit the youth.”
Read his full statement during the sentencing here:
“R. Kelly used his fame, fortune and enablers to exploit the young, the vulnerable and the voiceless for his own sexual gratification while many turned a blind eye.
“Through his actions, Kelly showed a callous disregard for the devastation his crimes had wreaked on his victims and showed no remorse for his actions. With today’s verdict, he was finally and fairly held accountable for his decades of abuse, exploitation and humiliation of teenagers and other vulnerable young people. We hope today’s verdict will bring some comfort and closure to the victims, including those who bravely testified in court, and serve as a long overdue recognition that their voices deserve to be heard and their lives matter .”
Oliver O’Connell1. July 2022 00:30
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Victim said singer kept her as a “sex slave.”
Lizzette Martinez, who made a victim impact statement during Wednesday’s sentencing hearing saying she was R Kelly’s “sex slave,” said she hoped R Kelly would get a tougher sentence.
“I personally don’t think it’s enough, but I’m happy with it,” she told reporters after the 55-year-old was sentenced to 30 years.
Other women who testified during the trial and sentencing have not released their names.
Gino Spocchia30. June 2022 23:30
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Why did R Kelly get a longer sentence than Ghislaine Maxwell?
Disgraced R&B singer R Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Wednesday following his conviction on sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
In response to this news, many compared his conviction to that of Jeffrey Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who was sentenced to twenty years in prison for her sex trafficking conviction.
A Twitter user wrote: “Can someone please explain to me why R Kelly was sentenced to ten years longer than Ghislaine Maxwell?”
Holly Bancroft examines:
Oliver O’Connell30. June 2022 22:54