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Nine months after his convictions for sex trafficking and extortion, dishonored R&B singer R. Kelly will be sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday.
Kelly, born Robert Sylvester Kelly, was accused of using his money, fame and network of business managers, security guards, assistants, lawyers and others to facilitate the abuse of women and children for nearly three decades.
The 2021 trial was one of the most prominent cases in the music industry that emerged from the #MeToo movement. It is also one of the most prominent cases in which the victims were mostly black women.
Here’s what you need to know about Kelly’s sentencing hearing:
What are the charges R. Kelly faced in New York?
A U.S. District Court jury in Brooklyn found 55-year-old Kelly guilty of an extractive offense and eight violations of the Mann Act, a law created to curb sex trafficking across borders. state.
Kelly’s conviction for extortion included 14 underlying acts. For example, witnesses testified the ’90s hit creator fraudulently married R&B singer Aaliyah, who was 15 years old and believed to be pregnant at the time, bribing a government official to give her a false ID claiming that she was an adult. Kelly did this to legally protect herself while sexually abusing Aaliyah, starting when she was 12 or 13, according to prosecutors. He died in a plane crash at the age of 22.
He was also convicted of traveling across state borders for illegal sexual activity, coercion and seduction and transportation of a minor.
Witnesses stated that Kelly and her team would use the celebrity of the performer to attract and organize the trip for their victims, many of them minors waiting for their big opportunity in the music business, just for Kelly to sexually abuse them.
Other witnesses, including Kelly’s ex-girlfriends and former employees, described an abuse system that kept Kelly’s victims living with him, unable to leave the rooms without her permission and raped by Kelly or other women.
Kelly denied all charges. His lawyer did not return a request for comment.
How much jail time could R. Kelly receive?
Kelly faces up to the mandatory minimum of 10 years in life imprisonment for extortion and sex trafficking. In a sentencing note, federal prosecutors asked for it Kelly will be sentenced to at least 25 years for “the seriousness of the crimes, the need for a specific deterrent and the need to protect the public from new crimes.”
Will her conviction affect Kelly’s ability to continue to benefit from her music?
Efforts to prevent Kelly from benefiting from her music were spearheaded by the #MuteRKelly campaign, which was founded in 2017 by arts administrator Oronike Odeleye and social justice activist Kenyette Barnes.
The singer of “I Believe I Can Fly” has millions of dollars stored in a copyright account with Sony, his old record label that dropped him in 2019. However, the money has been promised to a line of collectors, according to an Illinois appeals court. document.
More than $ 1 million in royalties were confiscated in 2020 by its former owner, Midwest Commercial Funding, after it stopped paying the rent for its Chicago studio. One of Kelly’s accusers in a previous court case won a $ 4 million settlement and will continue to receive a portion of his copyright from Sony until he pays it in full. Kelly also owes money to the IRS and is behind with child support payments.
The singer’s music is available on major streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music. Although Spotify removed its songs from its selected playlists, its music still reaches nearly 5 million monthly listeners.
Could he still face charges in other cases?
Kelly faces several charges in Chicago and Minnesota. In August, he is scheduled to go to trial in Illinois on federal charges of child pornography and obstruction of justice. In this case, Kelly changed her defense attorney and hired Jennifer Bonjean, who helped release Bill Cosby last year after serving three years in prison for sexual assault. In 2020 he pleaded not guilty to the charges.