Through tears and anger, several of Kelly’s accusers told a New York court, and the singer himself, that he had deceived and offended them. “You made me do things that broke my spirit. “I literally wished I could die because you made me feel low,” said an anonymous survivor, speaking directly to Kelly, who kept his arms crossed and his eyes lowered. “Do you remember that?” asked. Kelly, 55, did not testify and did not react when he heard his sentence, which included a $ 100,000 fine. He has denied any wrongdoing and plans to appeal against his conviction. The Grammy-winning multi-platinum songwriter was found guilty last year of blackmail and sexual assault in a trial that gave voice to accusers who had previously wondered if their stories were ignored because they were black women. The victims “are no longer the victims we once were,” said one of his defendants during the sentencing. “There was not a day in my life, until now, that I actually believed that the judiciary would pass for black and brown girls,” he added outside the court. A third woman, weeping and sniffing as she addressed the court, also said Kelly’s conviction renewed her faith in the legal system. The woman said Kelly died when she went to a concert when she was 17 years old. “I was scared, naive and I did not know how to handle the situation,” he said, so he did not speak at the time. “Silence,” he said, “is a very lonely place.” Kelly’s lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, said she was “devastated” by the sentence and saddened by what she had heard. “She is a human being. He feels what others feel. But that does not mean he can take responsibility in the way that the government and other people would like. “Because he disagrees with the descriptions that have been given to him,” he said. The proposal closes a slow-moving decline for Kelly, who is known for her work, including the 1996 hit “I Believe I Can Fly” and the cult classic “Trapped in the Closet,” a story of multiple episodes of sexual betrayal. and intrigue. He was adored by legions of fans and sold millions of albums even when allegations of abuse of young girls began circulating in the 1990s. He beat up child pornography charges in Chicago in 2008 when he was acquitted by a court. The widespread outrage over Kelly’s sexual harassment did not erupt until the #MeToo report reached its crescendo following the release of the documentary “Surviving R. Kelly”. “I hope this conviction serves as its own testimony that no matter how powerful, rich or famous your perpetrator may be or how small it makes you feel – justice only hears the truth,” his prosecutor said on Wednesday. Brooklyn, Brown Pitch. A Brooklyn federal court has convicted the singer, born Robert Sylvester Kelly, after hearing that he used the company of his executives and assistants to meet girls and keep them obedient, an operation that prosecutors said was tantamount to. Several accusers testified that Kelly subjected them to perverted and sadistic whims when they were minors. Prosecutors allege they were instructed to sign non-disclosure forms and were subjected to threats and punishment, such as violent beatings, for violating what someone called “Robb’s rules.” Some said they believed the videotapes he had of having sex would be used against them if they revealed what was happening. According to the testimony, Kelly gave several accusations of herpes without revealing that he had STDs, forced a teenage boy to have sex with a naked girl who came out from under a boxing ring in his garage and shot a shameful video showing a victim spotting feces on her face as punishment for violating his rules. “The horror that your victims have suffered,” U.S. District Judge Anne Donnelly said as she was convicted. “No price was too high to pay for your happiness.” Lizzette Martinez was a 17-year-old aspiring singer when she met Kelly in a Florida mall. She was promised guidance, but quickly turned out to be a “sex slave”, she said outside the court on Wednesday. Asked if Kelly’s 30-year sentence was sufficient punishment, she paused before answering. “I, personally, do not think it is enough,” he said, “but I am happy with that.” The lawsuit also uncovered evidence of a fraudulent marriage plan designed to protect Kelly after she feared she had infiltrated R&B Aaliyah in 1994 when she was just 15 years old. Witnesses said they were married in matching jogging suits using a license that falsely states her age as 18; he was 27 years old then. Aaliyah collaborated with Kelly, who wrote and produced her debut album in 1994, “Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number”. He died in a plane crash in 2001 at the age of 22. Kelly did not testify at his trial, but his lawyers at the time presented his accusers as friends and associates who were not forced to do anything against their will and stayed with him because they enjoyed the benefits of his lifestyle. His current lawyers argued that he should be sentenced to 10 years in prison because he had a traumatic childhood “involving severe, prolonged child sexual abuse, poverty and violence”. “As an adult with ‘lack of literacy’, the star has repeatedly been deceived and financially abused, often by the people he paid to protect him,” his lawyers said. The Associated Press does not name individuals who say they have been sexually assaulted or abused unless they appear in public, as Martinez did. Several women who spoke at Kelly’s trial were identified only by names or nicknames. Kelly has been jailed without bail since 2019. He is still facing charges of child pornography and obstruction of justice in Chicago, where the trial is scheduled to begin on August 15.
Associated Press reporter Ted Shaffrey contributed to this report.
