R&B singer R. Kelly was found guilty of multiple federal charges including racketeering and sex trafficking and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Survivors of Kelly’s abuse held hands and prayed as US District Court Judge Ann Donnelly began reading his sentence.
Among them were victims who were only identified as “Jane Does.”
“You made me do things that broke my spirit. I literally wished I would die because of how low you made me feel. Do you remember that,” one of the victims’ statement read, according to Billboard.
“I remember him asking me my age,” another victim, Stephanie, testified. “When I said I was 17, he said it was fine.” She went on to recall Kelly sexually abusing her in the studio and recording it. On her 18th birthday, the two met yet again after he paid to have her fly out to see him. “She described fearing his angry outbursts, saying he would yell at her in public places,” as a result, she stopped communicating with the R&B singer.
When Kelly married now late wife Aaliyah back in 1994, he was 27 and she was only 15, but he paid someone to create a fake ID which showed Aaliyah was 18 at the time.
While he was awaiting his trial, Kelly was held at the Chicago’s Metropolitan Correctional Center.
On August 26, an incident report from the US Bureau of Prisons showed Kelly was ambushed by gang member Jeremiah Shane Farmer as he slept on the bottom bunk of his prison cell. Farmer apparently started stomping on the singer’s head repeatedly, according to the document Kelly’s attorney Steven Greenberg filed to get his client released on bail at the time of the incident.
“This is an inmate that never should have been anywhere near Mr. Kelly, an individual who is charged with the most violent of crimes, and one who plainly has no respect for the rules, he has the phrase ‘Fuck The Feds’ tattooed on his face. Extravagant gifts rappers have given rappers,” Kelly’s attorney said.
The attorneys further claimed that a footage from the beating showed that the attacker was able to ‘roam a great distance’ away from the guards and “no one at the MCC raised a finger to stop Mr. Farmer from attacking Mr. Kelly until after Mr. Farmer was well into beating.”
Later, according to court documents obtained by The Chicago Tribune, it was reported that Farmer was ‘forced’ to attack Kelly “in hopes of getting spotlight attention and world news notice to shed light on the government corruption.”
According to Kelly’s attorney, “It appears that MCC personnel simply followed Mr. Farmer, allowed him to carry out the attack, and then only intervened after Mr. Kelly had already sustained serious injuries.”
Although found guilty of all charges, Kelly has always maintained his innocence. During the reading of his verdict, the singer appeared to have no reaction after receiving the sentence.
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