R&B singer Robert Sylvester Kelly, better known as R. Kelly, was recently sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Kelly was charged with racketeering based on criminal behavior such as the sexual exploitation of minors, forced labor and breaches of the Mann Act including the "coercion and transportation of women and girls in interstate commerce" to participate in illegal sexual activities, according to a June 30 news release.
"Robert Kelly is a prolific serial predator who utilized his wealth and fame to prey on the young and vulnerable by dangling promises of fame, fortune, and stardom for his own sexual gratification," HSI Acting Executive Associate Director Steve K. Francis said in the release. "Today’s sentence is a victory which belongs to the survivors of Kelly’s abuse. These brave women and men came forward, despite threats to their own personal safety, and were forced to relive the pain of the most traumatic days of their lives to tell the truth and make their voices heard."
Kelly was the leader of a criminal organization that recruited women and girls to engage in unlawful sexual conduct for almost three decades by using his notoriety, the release reported. This sentencing comes nearly one year after a Brooklyn federal jury convicted Kelly guilty on all nine counts in a superseding indictment Sept. 27, 2021, following a six-week trial.
"With today’s sentence he has finally and appropriately been held accountable for his decades of abuse, exploitation and degradation of teenagers and other vulnerable young people," Breon Peace, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in the release.
During the trial, the court heard testimony from 45 government witnesses and more than 10 victims, the release reported.
