He is guilty of all charges: That was decided by a jury at the end of September in the abuse trial once morest R. Kelly. Now it’s clear that the former pop superstar has to go to prison for 30 years. A court in New York announced the sentence this Wednesday.
A jury found the musician guilty on all nine charges last year, including sexual exploitation of minors, kidnapping and bribery. Kelly always denied the allegations. He had not testified himself, but followed the trial in the courtroom.
The sentence is higher than the 25 years prosecutors wanted for the “I Believe I Can Fly” singer. Kelly has been in prison since his arrest in the summer of 2019. His lawyers had demanded a significantly lower sentence and had previously announced that they would appeal the verdict.
The jury needed only nine hours to reach their verdict
Judge Ann Donnelly’s sentencing had been postponed several times due to various court formalities. For around six weeks last year, the prosecution and defense had laid out the abuse allegations once morest Kelly from several decades in detail, disassembled them and presented their arguments. Dozens of witnesses spoke up and hundreds of pieces of evidence were viewed. The jury then needed only nine hours at the end of September to reach a verdict.
The first allegations once morest the musician, born Robert Sylvester Kelly in Chicago in 1967, were made around 25 years ago. In 2008 he was tried for possession of images of serious sexual abuse of children – and was acquitted. The music giant seemed unassailable on his pop throne, with more than 50 million albums sold, several Grammys and other awards, he was one of the most successful musicians of the late 20th century.
But at the latest when the sensational documentary “Surviving R. Kelly” summarized the allegations in 2019, the singer became more and more lonely. Other celebrities distanced themselves from him, as well as radio stations, streaming services and then his music label RCA, which belongs to Sony Music. After the sentencing in New York, Kelly faces further legal consequences: there are also charges once morest the musician in the US states of Illinois and Minnesota. A trial in Chicago is scheduled to begin in mid-August.
