The #MeToo movement brought forward many big names from Hollywood that were accused of sexual misconduct/assault. Of them, R Kelly’s encounters with young women and children was one of the most horrific. The singer was accused of luring and trapping teenagers and women for sex, and abusing his power to do unimaginable things to them. After years of court cases, documentaries and claims from different victims, he has finally been sentenced to jail time. 

Kelly will be serving 30 years behind bars. Judge Ann Donnelly declared Kelly’s term in the Brooklyn federal court after he got convicted by a New York jury. “The verdict is in: R. Kelly has been sentenced to 30 years,” the US attorney’s office for the Eastern District of New York said in a tweet.

He still “poses a serious danger to the public,” said the prosecutors who had urged the court to put the singer behind bars for at least 25 years. “His actions were brazen, manipulative, controlling and coercive. He has shown no remorse or respect for the law,” prosecutors mentioned in their sentencing memo.

R Kelly was found guilty on all nine charges he faced in September. This included, the most serious, racketeering. His lawyers had appealed for a lighter sentence with a maximum of roughly 17 years, but to no avail. The majority of accusers, in this case, were Black women — 45 witnesses, including 11 alleged victims, came to the stand to discuss his pattern of crimes. 

Another jury selection is due to start in a separate, long-delayed federal trial in Chicago on August 15 as well, where he and two of his former associates are alleged to have falsified Kelly’s 2008 pornography trial and concealed years of sexual abuse of minors. He will also be facing prosecution in two other state jurisdictions.

(Featured Image Credits: Twitter)