R&B singer R Kelly
(Picture: AP)A victim of R Kelly has called the R&B singer a ‘pied piper’ who lured children with his money and fame, at his sentencing in New York.
The singer was sentenced to 30 years in prison, at Brooklyn Federal Court on Wednesday.
The celebrity, 55, was convicted last September on charges of racketeering and eight counts of sex trafficking.
A victim known as Angela, said “I pray that God reaches your soul” as she addressed R Kelly at court on Wednesday.
Angela, who testified during R Kelly’s trial, said he was a pied piper who lured children with his money.
“With every addition of a new victim, you grew in wickedness,” she said.
“You used your fame and power to groom and coach underage boys and girls for your own sexual gratification.”
Today “we reclaim our names,” she said. “We are no longer the preyed-upon individuals we once were.”
“I pray that God reaches your soul,” she said.
Another victim, known as Addie, said she met R Kelly at a concert and was sexually assaulted by him.
“I never knew that going to that concert in September of 1994 was going to change me forever,” she said.
Addie told the court that she stayed silent for decades, something she now regrets.
“The last four years have been a rude awakening of how my silence has hurt others.”
Lizette Martinez, who featured in the documentary Surviving R Kelly, addressed the singer directly while reading her victim impact statement in court.
“Robert, you destroyed so many people’s lives,” she said.
“I do not know how to put a price on all I’ve gone through,” she said. “I am now 45, a mother and I struggle with mental health.”
Martinez met R Kelly in a mall when she was 17 years old.
Prosecutors have argued that Kelly should be jailed for more than 25 years while his lawyers said he deserves no more than 10 years, the mandatory minimum.
A jury convicted the singer after hearing how he trafficked women across different US states over two decades, assisted by his entourage of staff.
The court also heard how Kelly had illegally obtained paperwork to marry singer Aaliyah when she was 15 in 1994, with the marriage certificate falsely listing her age as 18.
The singer has yet to face federal child pornography and obstruction of justice charges in Chicago, where a trial is scheduled to begin August 15.
He also faces state charges in Illinois and Minnesota.
