#R kelly singer trial#

“Indeed, the defendant’s decades of crime appear to have been fueled by narcissism and a belief that his musical talent absolved him of any need to conform his conduct-no matter how predatory, harmful, humiliating, or abusive to others-to the structures of the law.” “He continued his crimes and avoided punishment for them for almost 30 years and must now be held to account,” federal prosecutors said in a 31-page sentencing memo.

#R kelly singer trial#

During his sentencing hearing on Wednesday, prosecutors focused on the harrowing abuse revealed during the trial while recommending that Kelly be sentenced to more than 25 years in prison to “protect the public from further crimes.” The grueling six-week trial came after two years of delays spurred by a global pandemic and various legal hurdles-and decades of allegations, charges, and lawsuits. Neither the teenager who was allegedly in the video nor her parents testified. Fifteen witnesses, including Sparkle, testified during the trial that garnered nationwide attention. During the trial, where the singer was acquitted on all counts, prosecutors argued a video showed Kelly having sex with the teenage niece of R&B singer Sparkle. The sentencing came years after a 2008 failed Chicago case against Kelly. Kelly docu-series, kept it simple in her statement to the court on Wednesday: “Robert, you destroyed so many people’s lives.” Lizette Martinez, who was in the Surviving R. “You used your fame and power to groom and coach underage boys and girls for your own sexual gratification.” “With every addition of a new victim, you grew in wickedness,” Angela said. A woman identified as Angela, who testified at trial about how she was sexually assaulted by the singer when she was a teenager, looked directly at Kelly as she called him a “pied piper” who lured children with fame. They hate us.”Ĭharles told the singer he did not harbor ill will toward him, and encouraged him to seek forgiveness from God.Several women issued victim impact statements before the sentence was rendered, all detailing the effects of Kelly’s pattern of sexual, emotional, and physical abuse. “We’re suffering because so many people love you. Put yourself in my shoes,” Charles pleaded as he turned to face him. Kelly, to look at me, and just think what I might be feeling. Kelly continues to retain a sizable base of support, one victim’s father, who gave his name as Charles in court on Wednesday, detailed the threats and intense harassment his family has endured. Through the mid-2010s, he headlined major music festivals while collaborating with stars, from Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber, to Jennifer Hudson and Chance the Rapper.Īnd as Mr. Hours after the singer pleaded not guilty to the charges that led to his 2008 trial, he sang alongside children at a church in Chicago. The singer performed at the opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics on the same day Chicago police revealed they were investigating him. (He was acquitted on all counts after the girl declined to testify at trial.) Kelly’s stardom remained intact, even during a criminal trial in 2008, that centered on an infamous 27-minute tape that appeared to show him having sex with an underage girl. “What you did has left a permanent stain on my life that I will never be able to wash away. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be whole,” the woman continued. “I’m sorry I don’t want to interrupt his conversation,” she interrupted, pausing until the room returned to silence. Kelly and his lawyer whispered at their table.

The courtroom grew tense at one point as Mr. Kelly with hopes of helping a friend land an audition, she said, but the singer coerced her into sex. I literally wished that I could die because of how you made me feel.” And you were a pedophile, ready to ruin another young lady’s life,” the woman said.

2, said she had sex with the entertainer in 1999 when she was 17, and said she still often finds herself “sobbing uncontrollably at random times of the day.” One woman, known in court only by the pseudonym Jane Doe No. For an hour in court on Wednesday, seven women and one of their fathers delivered wrenching accounts, describing the devastation of their sense of self-worth, and how the trauma continues to touch every facet of their lives.