American R&B star, R Kelly, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for sex trafficking and abusing young girls as judge tells him “the public has to be protected,” the Daily Mail of UK reported on Wednesday.
Judge Ann M. Donnelly handed down Kelly’s sentence on Wednesday, despite the defence lawyers’ request for a sentence of 10 years or less. Prosecutors had asked for at least 25 years.
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.”
A Brooklyn federal court jury last fall found Kelly, 55, guilty of racketeering and other counts at a trial that was seen as a signature moment in the #MeToo movement.
Kelly learned his fate after his accusers told the court, through tears and anger, that he had preyed on them and misled his fans.
He declined to make a statement prior to the sentencing because of pending litigation, his attorney said.
Outrage over Kelly’s sexual misconduct with young women and children was fueled in part by the widely watched docuseries ‘Surviving R. Kelly,’ which gave voice to accusers who wondered whether their stories were previously ignored because they were Black women.
Kelly has been detained at Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since his trial. It has not been revealed where Kelly would spend his sentence.
He is still set to stand trial in Chicago on charges of child pornography and obstruction of justice. He also faces charges in Minnesota and federal charges of pornography and obstruction in Illinois.
