R&B singer R. Kelly has been sentenced to 30 years in prison on Wednesday for leveraging his fame to repeatedly sexually abuse young followers, some of whom were just children.
According to Daily Mail, in a trial that gave voice to accusers who had previously questioned whether their claims were being disregarded just because they were Black women, the singer and songwriter, 55, was found guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking last year.
U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly imposed the sentence after hearing from several survivors who attested to how Kelly’s exploitation reverberated across their lives
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.’
‘These crimes were calculated and carefully planned and regularly executed for almost 25 years,’ she said. ‘You taught them that love is enslavement and violence.’
Kelly, who declined to speak on Wednesday, learned his fate after some of his accusers told the court, through tears and anger, that he had preyed on them and misled his fans. He was also ordered to pay a $100,000 fine.
The ‘World’s Greatest’ singer has been detained at Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since his trial. It has not been revealed where Kelly would spend his sentence.
