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Asharq Al-Awsat
Asharq Al-Awsat
Entertainment
Asharq Al-Awsat

R. Kelly, the Top-selling R&B Star Who Dodged Sex Allegations for Years

R. Kelly, shown here in Chicago court in 2019, stood trial in Brooklyn after decades of sexual abuse allegations. POOL GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File

A Chicago native who soared to global celebrity on a burst of megahits in the 1990s, for years R. Kelly endured as one of R&B's top stars, even as he faced a slew of sex abuse allegations.

But now, three decades after he was first documented to have abused a minor, the 55-year-old artist will spend 30 years in prison after a New York jury convicted him of running a criminal ring that trapped teenagers and women in a web of sexual, emotional and physical abuse, said AFP.

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