Photo Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images
R. Kelly Has Been Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison
On Wednesday in a Brooklyn federal court, R. Kelly was been sentenced to 30 years in prison on sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
Disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison. This comes months after the singer was convicted on all nine sex trafficking counts against him. Kelly was convicted of racketeering and violating the Mann Act back in September. U.S. District Court Judge Ann Donnelly handed down the sentence in a Brooklyn courtroom on Wednesday (June 29th).
The sentence came after a hearing where several of Kelly's victims spoke out against Kelly.
A woman, who went by Jane Doe No. 2, said:
"You degraded me, humiliated me and broke my spirit. wished I would die because of how you degraded me."
According to NBC News, after she noticed Kelly having side conversations she said, "You are an abuser, shameless, disgusting. I hope you go to jail for the rest of your life. I feel sorry for you."
Prosecutors had originally asked for Kelly to receive 25 years in prison for his charges. The judge went beyond that request. In defense, Kelly's legal team argued that the singer was sexually abused by his sister as a child, and that receiving a 25-year prison sentence would be unjust.
"A 25-year sentence is tantamount to a life sentence for Defendant who is 55 years old," Kelly's attorney Jennifer Bonjean wrote per Insider. "Defendant's convictions involve four victims who describe conduct that is simply not deserving of a de facto life sentence."
Kelly is still facing child pornography and obstruction of justice charges in Chicago, where his next trial will begin on August 15.