The defense said he is “pretty close to indigent” and could not. Kelly to be accountable.”ĭefense attorneys and prosecutors argued Wednesday in court over whether Kelly even could pay a fine. “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.
She later added: “Now it’s your turn to have your freedom taken from you.” “It’s been 23 years since we knew each other, and you’ve victimized a lot of girls since then,” she said, addressing Kelly. Prior to sentencing, the court heard impact statements from seven of Kelly’s victims, including Jane Doe 2, who testified at trial. Kelly and the judge are seen in a sketch of the sentencing. Nobody wants to hear what he heard today.” Kelly made his only comment in response to the judge after Bonjean said he wouldn’t speak: “Yes, your honor, that’s my wish.”īonjean said she advised Kelly not to speak at the sentencing because of pending litigation against him, but added, “he has regrets. “He accepts that he is a flawed individual,” Bonjean said, “but he is not this one-dimensional monster that the government has portrayed and the media has portrayed.” 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.” 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.
WHO RAISED SINGER R KELLY TRIAL
The five-week federal trial in Brooklyn included testimony from witnesses who said they were sexually and physically abused by Kelly. 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.” Kelly convicted of racketeering and sex trafficking by a federal jury in New YorkĪ 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. Kelly, center, sits with his defense attorneys Thomas Farinella, top, and Nicole Blank Becker during the first day of his defense in his sex trafficking case, Monday, Sept. I stand here very proud of my judicial system, very proud of my fellow survivors and very pleased with the outcome.” “There wasn’t a day in my life up until this moment that I actually believed that the judicial system would come through for Black and brown girls. “I started this journey 30 years ago,” Cunningham said outside the court after the hearing. Jovante Cunningham, a former backup singer for Kelly, praised the sentence. “It may explain, at least in part, what led to your behavior,” the judge said. 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.
WHO RAISED SINGER R KELLY FULL
“You left in your wake a trail of broken lives,” Donnelly told Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly. 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. Survivors of Kelly’s abuse held hands and prayed as US District Court Judge Ann Donnelly began reading his sentence. Kelly be sentenced to more than 25 years in prison Kelly in court, Chicago, USA - Tannen Maury/EPA-EFE/Shutterstockįederal prosecutors recommend R. Kelly, through his attorney, is reportedly challenging evidence provided in two video tapes that allegedly show him having sex with a 14 year old girl.R. Kelly (C) looks for his vehicle as he leaves court at the Leighton Criminal Courts building after a status hearing on his sexual assault charges in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Mandatory Credit: Photo by TANNEN MAURY/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock (10230483k)R&B singer R.
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