R. Kelly was recently sentenced to 30 years in jail following his conviction on nine federal charges, including sex crimes and human trafficking.
The disgraced singer was present when Judge Ann M. Donnelly announced his sentence on Wednesday in the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, bringing an end to one of the most high-profile criminal prosecutions by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in recent memory.
Since Kelly was found guilty on all 9 counts in September, he has known he may receive a sentence of 10 years to life. He declined to speak at the sentencing.
According to TMZ, given the gravity of Kelly’s offenses, federal prosecutors had recommended a sentence of at least 25 years in prison.
Just over a month had passed since Kelly’s trial began, and it appeared that his attorneys were outnumbered in court since the federal government summoned more witnesses than the defense.
Kelly’s legal team called on a few former coworkers and friends who all testified under oath that they never witnessed Kelly abusing anyone.
However, the prosecution called a large number of witnesses to the stand who cast doubt on that assertion. Some testified that Kelly had managers, bodyguards, and assistants who rounded up his potential victims before the singer groomed them for unwanted sex, among other things.
Kelly never spoke out for himself.
Lizzette Martinez, one of Kelly’s victims, told TMZ that he has more than earned a life sentence. According to Martinez, the man has demonstrated numerous times that he will use his position of authority to obtain his goals, and he shouldn’t be given the opportunity to prey on women once more.
Remember that Kelly still has to deal with an Illinois-based federal case in addition to a Minnesota-based state trial.
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