Following years of accusations from several women, R&B artist R. Kelly has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after being convicted of racketeering and sex trafficking.
U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly imposed the sentence on Kelly and ordered him to pay a $100,000 fine at the conclusion of a nearly three-hour hearing. As reported by Fox News, Kelly did not address the court, however, several women did come forward to testify against him. The victims held hands while the sentence was read. Kelly had no apparent reaction.
Seven of Kelly’s victims gave impact statements during the sentencing hearing. The women who spoke at Kelly’s sentencing were identified only by first names or pseudonyms.
“You made me do things that broke my spirit. I literally wished I would die because of how low you made me feel,” one woman told the Grammy-winning, multiplatinum-selling singer. “Do you remember that?”
Another woman, sobbing and sniffling as she spoke, said Kelly’s conviction restored her faith in the legal system.
“I once lost hope,” she said, addressing the court and prosecutors, “but you restored my faith.”
The woman said Kelly victimized her after she went to a concert when she was 17. “I was afraid, naive and didn’t know to handle the situation,” she said, so she didn’t speak up at the time.
“Silence,” she said, “is a very lonely place.”
The artist was convicted on one count of racketeering. The racketeering includes 14 underlying acts of sexual exploitation of a child, kidnapping, bribery and sex trafficking charges. He was also convicted on eight violations of the Mann Act. The legislation makes it illegal to transport people across state lines for “immoral purposes.”
Kelly has been jailed without bail since 2019. He’s still facing child pornography and obstruction of justice charges in Chicago, where a trial is scheduled to begin on Aug. 15.