R. Kelly, the famous singer who has been serving prison time for sex trafficking, has now been sentenced to 20 years in prison for sexually abusing minors, including his 14-year old goddaughter.
He was convicted on 6 total sexual abuse charges, all happening in the 1990’s, and was acquitted of the multiple charges of having coerced minors into sexual activity, but found found guilty in the case involving his goddaughter, and also found guilty of child pornography charges which involved him producing sex tapes with underage girls.
Kelly was ordered to serve the 20 years simultaneous, with the exception of one year, with his already 30-year conviction for sex trafficking that he was arrested for in 2019 and found guilty of last year. That single year will be added to his 30-year sentence. Kelly is presently serving his time at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago.
The 56-year old “I Believe I Can Fly,” singer has sold over 75 millions records worldwide, but will now be in prison until he is 85 years old.
RCA Records terminated its contract with the singer after the Lifetime channel aired the documentary Surviving R. Kelly in January of 2019. The documentary received significant attention from both the public and law enforcement and can be said to be the catalyst for his eventual arrest on sex trafficking charges. He was then interviewed by CBS’s Gayle King, where it became obvious that he considered his manipulation of underage women to be non-problematic.
In 1994, Kelly married 15-year old singer Aaliyah, which federal prosecutors allege was “legally” allowed as a result of Kelly bribing a government employee. Kelly denies the charge of bribery, but the reality of the matter still remains that he married a 15-year old. His fascination with teenage girls, especially those under 16, appears to finally resulted in punishment, but those teenage girls, including his goddaughter, will have scars that last for the rest of their respective lives.
Today, his goddaughter released a statement through her lawyer, saying, “No amount of therapy will make me normal.”