US artist Robert Sylvester Kelly, who is popularly known as R. Kelly has been slapped with a 30-year-jail term for using his status to run a scheme to sexually abuse children and women.
Kelly, 55, was convicted of racketeering and sex trafficking crimes by a jury in September.
R. Kelly was also fined $100,000 (£82,525).
It has been reported that Kelly used his celebrity status and sphere of influence to lure women and children into sexual abuse over two decades.
On Wednesday, US District Judge Ann Donnelly said the celebrity used sex as a weapon, forcing his victims to do unspeakable things and saddling them with incurable diseases.
The sentence, she said, would act as a deterrent from committing similar crimes in the future.
Prosecutors were seeking a minimum of a 25-year-jail-term, while the defence argued that a sentence of 10 years or less is all he deserves.
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| Breaking News - US Artist R. Kelly Sentenced To 30-Years In Prison! |
They added:
“His victimisation continued into adulthood where, because of his literacy deficiencies, the defendant has been repeatedly defrauded and financially abused, often by the people he paid to protect him.”
In the New York trial that began Aug. 18, Kelly faced federal counts of human trafficking, racketeering, child pornography, kidnapping and forced labour.
The former music star denied all allegations against him and pleaded not guilty. During the trial, the prosecution sought to prove that not only is Kelly a predator, but his team has long enabled his behaviour.
Over the course of the five-week trial, the prosecution brought nine women and two men to the stand to tell their accounts of Kelly’s sexual, physical and mental abuse, along with 34 witnesses, including former employees of Kelly.
