‘King of R&B’ jailed for sex crimes
Former R&B star R Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison yesterday for racketeering and sex trafficking, charges stemming from nearly 30 years of allegations that he physically and sexually abused women and minors.
It is a stunning fall for Kelly, a hitmaker who won multiple Grammy Awards and released chart-topping music while dodging sexual misconduct allegations for decades. His is among the highestprofile cases to spring from the #MeToo movement, and the punishment handed down in a Brooklyn federal court is one of the harshest since the movement began. Film producer Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years for felony rape and, earlier this week, Ghislaine Maxwell received 20 years for aiding financier Jeffrey Epstein in the sex trafficking of young women and underage girls.
During his 2021 trial, Kelly was depicted by former live-in girlfriends and employees as a star who used his fame, wealth and power to control and sexually abuse women. The mounting allegations against the singer tested the loyalty of fans who had dubbed Kelly the ‘‘King of R&B’’ and kept his music in the charts.
For decades, whispers of his behaviour were deafening. And yet the singer continued to sell out major arenas and bask in the support of his fans and the music industry until the #MeToo movement founded by Tarana Burke and a Lifetime documentary forced a public and legal reckoning.
The Brooklyn federal jury found Kelly, 55, guilty of one count of racketeering and eight violations of the Mann Act, a law created to curb sex trafficking across state lines.