A New York Federal Judge has sentenced music superstar R.Kelly to 30 years in prison of nine counts of sex trafficking and racketeering in September.
Judge Ann M. Donnelly who presided over the musician’s six-week long trial last year in Brooklyn, New York announced the prison sentence on Wednesday after listening to statements from various accusers.
A jury of seven men and five women had found Kelly guilty in 2021, after two days of rigorous deliberations.
His accusers gave a graphic presentation of his excesses and how he abused them and preyed on them.
“You made me do things that broke my spirit. I literally wished I would die because of how low you made me feel,” a woman approached R. Kelly and said.
“Do you remember that?” she asked.
The charges against Kelly were based on the argument that his aides helped him find the girls and gagged them while they were abused.
Kelly was also convicted for violating the Mann Act which stops anyone from crossing state lines to engage in illegal acts.
Prosecutors had said the singer deserved at least 25 years in prison but his attorneys argued that he should be given ten years or less as he “experienced a traumatic childhood involving severe, prolonged childhood sexual abuse, poverty, and violence.”
R.Kelly looks to most likely appeal the judgement as one of his attorneys Jennifer Bonjean said; “He’s strong, and we are going to get through this,” with the hope of getting the judgement overturned.
