Fallen R&B star R. Kelly could be sentenced Wednesday for sexually abusing multiple women, young girls and boys, and he could spend the rest of his life in prison.
Kelly, 55, will be convicted in September on nine charges, including racketeering and violating the Mann Act, which prohibits interstate transportation of women and girls for “immoral purposes,” and will appear in federal court in Brooklyn. appear in court.
The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10.30am and several women, including some who testified at Kelly’s trial last year, are expected to speak in court.
Prosecutors have asked Judge Ann Donnelly to sentence the “I Believe I Can Fly” singer, whose full name is Robert Kelly, to more than 25 years in prison — Kelly said in a sentencing memo Relying on his fame and money “both carried and concealed his crimes.”
“He must now be held accountable for his continued crimes and avoidance of punishment for nearly 30 years,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York said in a 31-page sentencing memo.
Prosecutors tried to paint Kelly as a predator during the trial, who had been abused for decades and had no remorse for what he had done.
“In fact, the defendant’s decades of crime appear to have been motivated by narcissism and the belief that his musical talent exempted him from any need to affirm his actions – whether predatory, hurtful, humiliating or abusive towards others. — the law,” the memo said.
Attorney Jennifer Bonjean, who has represented notorious actor and comedian Bill Cosby, has asked for a sentence of less than 14 years.
The defence team sought to paint the accusers who testified as despised fans and said Kelly should not have had more time to abuse a victim known in court as ‘Jane’, whose parents were involved in her music career seek his help.
“Records show that Jane’s parents directed Jane to lie to the defendant about her age and then encouraged her to seduce him,” Kelly’s attorney said in a court memo.
About 45 witnesses were called during the trial, with victim Jerhonda Pace tearfully testifying as she described a confrontation with an angry Kelly, who she said hit her and forced her to perform oral sex on him.
A witness testified that Kelly performed oral sex on singer Arya when she was 13 or 14 years old.
Witnesses described Kelly’s plans to marry Arya illegally in 1994, when she was 15 and Arya was 27. Kelly was allegedly terrified of the girl getting pregnant and marrying her because it would help him avoid charges of having sex with a minor, and she was barred from testifying against him. A former member of Kelly’s entourage testified that he bribed an official to get Arya a false idea that she was 18 so the marriage could go ahead.
Aaliyah died in a plane crash in 2001 at the age of 22.
Kelly also faces charges in Minnesota and federal charges of pornography and obstruction in Illinois.
The Grammy winner did not testify in his defense during the New York trial, but exploded in hysteria and denied any wrongdoing during a 2019 CBS News interview with Gail King. The interview followed the “Surviving R. Kelly” series, which documented a series of allegations against him.
He could choose to make a statement at Wednesday’s sentencing.
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