R. Kelly sentenced to 30 years

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Disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison Wednesday, according to the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York, following his conviction last year on federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges stemming from his efforts over years to use his fame to ensnare victims he sexually abused.

Prosecutors had asked the judge to sentence Kelly, 55, to more than 25 years behind bars, while his defense attorneys asked for 10 or fewer, saying prosecutors' request was "tantamount to a life sentence."

Survivors of Kelly's abuse held hands and prayed as US District Court Judge Ann Donnelly began reading his sentence. Kelly -- who wore a tan prison uniform, dark-rimmed glasses and a black mask at the hearing in federal court in Brooklyn -- showed no emotion.

"You left in your wake a trail of broken lives," Donnelly told Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly.
In deciding the sentence, Donnelly said she considered Kelly's own traumatic childhood, during which his attorneys said he was repeatedly sexually abused by a family member and a landlord.

"It may explain, at least in part, what led to your behavior," the judge said. "It most surely is not an excuse."

A jury convicted Kelly last September on nine counts, including one charge of racketeering and eight counts of violations of the Mann Act, a sex trafficking law. Prosecutors from the Eastern District of New York accused Kelly of using his status as a celebrity and a "network of people at his disposal to target girls, boys and young women for his own sexual gratification."

The five-week federal trial in Brooklyn included testimony from witnesses who said they were sexually and physically abused by Kelly. The court also heard from people involved with orchestrating the disgraced R&B singer's 1994 marriage to the late singer Aaliyah when she was just 15 years old and he was an adult after she believed she'd gotten pregnant.

Kelly's attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, said he would not address the court, pointing to the other criminal case faced by Kelly, but said before the sentence was read that her client "rejects that he is this monster."

Prior to sentencing, the court heard impact statements from seven of Kelly's victims, including Jane Doe 2, who testified at trial.
"It's been 23 years since we knew each other, and you've victimized a lot of girls since then," she said, addressing Kelly. She later added: "Now it's your turn to have your freedom taken from you."

"No one can undo the harm that has been done to these victims," attorney Gloria Allred, who represented three victims who testified, told reporters Wednesday outside court. "But at least it's time for Mr. Kelly to be accountable."

Defense attorneys and prosecutors argued Wednesday in court over whether Kelly even could pay a fine. The defense said he is "pretty close to indigent" and could not. Prosecutors disagreed, saying money from the sale of some of his music rights and millions of dollars in royalties held by Sony could cover any fine.

In the nine months since his conviction, Kelly has replaced his entire legal team with Bonjean and her firm. Bonjean is the attorney who helped Bill Cosby get his sexual assault conviction overturned and also represented Cosby in a civil case he lost this month at trial.

Ahead of the sentencing, a Chicago man who had attended Kelly's trial in Brooklyn was arrested and charged for making threats against the three US attorneys who prosecuted Kelly, a copy of his arrest warrant shows.

Christopher Gunn was arrested Saturday for allegedly posting threats to kill or seriously injure the female prosecutors.
R. Kelly victims react to verdict: 'I'm ready to start living my life free from fear,' one says
According to the arrest warrant, Gunn posted video to his YouTube channel in October, shortly after Kelly was found guilty, that showed an image of the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York where the women work. Prosecutors believe a voice narrating the video is Gunn's, and he says, "That's where they at. That's where they work at ... We're going to storm the office," saying each of the three prosecutors' names.

"If you ain't got the stomach for the sh*t we 'bout to do, I'm asking that you just bail out," he allegedly said in the video.

A federal judge in Chicago sentenced R. Kelly to 20 years in prison Thursday — though the majority of that term will be served at the same time as the 30-year sentence he received for his sex trafficking conviction in New York.

All told, Kelly now faces 31 years in federal prison, an effective life sentence for the 56-year-old disgraced R&B superstar.

“Everybody agrees the nature of this offense is horrible, horrific,” U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber said before issuing the sentence at the end of a roughly two-hour hearing at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse in the Loop.

Leinenweber ordered that Kelly serve 19 of those years concurrent to the 30-year sentence he received last year following his conviction in New York. The last year, Leinenweber said, would be served after his New York sentence.

Addressing the media after the verdict, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois John Lausch said the two-decade sentence is “significant,” though his office pushed for a stiffer punishment.

“A 20-year sentence in this case is impactful,” Lausch said. “That ensures that there will be a significant period of time that R. Kelly will not be out on the streets to be able to do additional harm to others. Are we disappointed that we didn’t get more of a consecutive sentence? Absolutely. We asked for more of a consecutive sentence.”

Lausch also expressed disappointment in Leinenweber’s decision to not award any restitution to two of Kelly’s victims, “Jane” and “Nia,” though he did award $42,000 to the third victim, “Pauline,” to cover mental health treatment expenses.

Three victim impact statements were read before Leinenweber announced the sentence. The first was read by an attorney for “Jane,” Kelly’s former goddaughter and the government’s star witness at trial. She testified that she was the underage girl seen on the tape that was at the center of Kelly’s 2008 trial.

“I thought Robert loved me. To do the things he did, he in fact loathed me,” “Jane’s” attorney, Christopher Brown, read. “Robert shattered me.”

“I will forever be the girl that Robert Kelly pissed on,” the statement continued. “Robert Kelly needs to be in jail for the balance of his natural life.”

Another of Kelly’s victims, “Nia,” delivered her own statement, tearfully speaking about how she met Kelly in a mall in Georgia when she was a teenager. During the trial, she testified that Kelly arranged for her to travel to Minnesota to meet him and how, in a hotel room, he touched her genitals while he masturbated.

“I was completely damaged by you on the inside,” Nia said. “You are here in this courtroom, in front of this judge, because there is something wrong with you.”

Kelly showed no emotion and mostly stared down at the table during the victim impact statements. He said little during the hearing except to answer a few questions from Leinenweber, and, following his attorney’s advice, he declined to make any statements before he was sentenced. His attorney Jennifer Bonjean noted that Kelly remains under indictment in Minnesota, and any statement that he made could be used against him in that prosecution.

“He will not allocute here, but he would like to,” Bonjean said. “He would like to very much.”

Before the sentence was announced, Bonjean reminded Leinenweber that Kelly, who rose from poverty on Chicago’s South Side to global superstardom, was for years a victim of his own sexual abuse at the hands of a family member.

“This is generational trauma,” Bonjean said. “You can’t just say, ‘Oh, he should overcome it.'”

Bonjean is appealing Kelly’s 2021 conviction in New York, and she said Thursday she will file an appeal for his conviction in Chicago.

Disgraced musician R. Kelly and Universal Music Group must pay more than $500,000 in music royalties to his sexual abuse victims, a New York judge ruled.

Judge Ann Donnelly of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York signed an order Wednesday stating that the music corporation must turn over funds satisfying Kelly's debt of $507,234.05.

Universal is in possession of at least $567,444.19 from the singer's music publishing royalties, the court order states.

The money will be sent to Brooklyn federal prosecutors to help cover his victim's restitution and criminal fines.

Kelly, whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, is serving 30 years in prison after a New York jury convicted him of racketeering and sex trafficking in 2021. As part of his sentencing in the case, Kelly, Universal and Sony Music Entertainment were ordered to pay his half-million dollar debut.

Prosecutors, however, said Wednesday that Sony was no longer responsible because Kelly's royalties with Universal will cover it.

"The outstanding balance fluctuates because it is subject to interest, but as of today is $507,234.05. Universal Music Group is holding at least $567,444.19. Because the funds held by Universal will cover the entire restitution debt, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will withdraw our Writ of Garnishment against Sony," the prosecutor's office said.