R. Kelly, an American musician, has been sentenced to 30 years in jail for leveraging his celebrity to perpetrate a plan of sexual abuse against minors and women.
In September, a New York jury found the 55-year-old R&B performer guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking.
Robert Sylvester Kelly, a native of Chicago, was additionally fined $100,000 (£82,525).
Currently, he faces distinct criminal charges in three further cases.
Kelly, known for hits such as I Believe I Can Fly and Ignition, was discovered to have used his celebrity status and sphere of influence to lure women and children into sexual assault over a twenty-year period.
US District Judge Ann Donnelly stated at the celebrity’s sentence on Wednesday that he used sex as a weapon, compelling his victims to do horrible acts and infecting them with fatal diseases.
She stated that the sentence would serve as a deterrent against committing similar offenses in the future.
During Kelly’s six-week trial in Brooklyn, jurors heard how he supported managers, security guards, and other members of his entourage in the interstate trafficking of women.
The court also heard that Kelly obtained unlawful documentation to marry singer Aaliyah when she was 15 in 1994, seven years before to the singer’s death in a plane crash.
The certificate leaked at the time said that Aaliyah was 18 years old. Later, the marriage was dissolved.
Given the severity of Kelly’s crimes and the “need to safeguard the public from future crimes,” federal prosecutors urged that he be sentenced to more than 25 years in prison.
However, his attorneys requested a sentence of 10 years or less, the mandatory minimum for his guilt.
They depicted Kelly as having suffered sexual abuse at an early age and growing up in a violent, violent family.