R Kelly has been sentenced to 30 years in prison on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering by a federal court in New York. A court heard how the R&B singer was a mastermind behind an elaborate scheme to entice and sexually exploit young aspiring singers and minors.
He was faced by seven of his victims in court today, who spoke of his “deplorable and inexplicable” abuse during the hearing. While sporting a prison-issue uniform, Kelly did not seem to react while his sentence was read out. Kelly, whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, has now been detained at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn.
The former 90s superstar's sentence comes after his conviction on numerous counts racketeering, relating to bribery and forced labour, by a jury in September 2021. The 55-year-old, who was branded “the pied piper of R&B”, was also found to be in violation of the Mann Act - an anti-sex trafficking law.
