R Kelly’s victims spoke after the singer was sentenced to 30 years in prison for sex trafficking.
After a six-week trial in Brooklyn, Kelly, 55, was convicted on all nine charges against him, including multiple counts of racketeering, with the charges related to bribery and forced labor, by a jury in September last year.
Kelly – who has denied all charges – was also found in violation of a sex trafficking law known as the Mann Act.
The musician was sentenced by a U.S. federal court in New York to 30 years in prison for a scheme to sexually exploit young aspiring singers and minor children.
Before the sentence was handed down, several of Kelly’s victims spoke in the courtroom, with one branding him as the ‘pied piper or R&B’.
The same victim, who used the pseudonym Angela, told reporters after the sentencing: ‘I started this journey 30 years ago, I was 14 years old when I met Robert Sylvester Kelly.
‘There was not a day in my life until this moment that I actually believed that the legal system for black and brown girls would come through.
“I am very proud of my legal system here, very proud of my fellow survivors and very pleased with the result.
’30 years [is how long] that he did it and it’s been 30 years since he got it. ‘
Lizzette Martinez, who also read an impact statement in court under the pseudonym Jane Doe, said she was happy with the sentence but “personally did not think it was enough”.
“Today has been a very special but difficult day for us,” she said.
‘It happened to me a very long time ago, I was 17 them and I’m 45 today.
“I never thought I would see him held accountable, the heinous things he did to children.
‘I do not know what else to say except that I am grateful.
‘I’m thankful Robert Sylvester Kelly is gone and will stay away and no one else will be harmed.
Asked if 30 years is a long enough sentence, Ms Martinez replied: “I personally do not think it is enough, but I am satisfied with it.”
Kelly did not appear to have reacted when the sentence was handed down, with Judge Ann Donnelly saying during sentencing that he used his ‘minions’ to ‘attract young fans into your orbit’.
She added that he taught his victims ‘that love is slavery and violence’.
Judge Donnelly told Kelly: ‘Judging another person is probably the hardest thing a judge has to do.
‘It is fair to say, Mr Kelly, that you are a person who has had a great advantage, you have had worldwide fame and fortune, unprecedented money.
“By using your status and celebrity… you had a system of people that you used to attract young fans into your orbit.
‘To have your young people at the mall troll… hand out your phone number… for the opportunity to meet R Kelly.
“You’ve had yourself a genius who can do” what I want because of what I give to the world. “
The court heard victim impact statements from seven women, anonymously presented to the court as Jane Does, outlining Kelly’s ‘God-like complex’ and how he used his ‘fame and fortune’ to lure his victims.
The woman who used the pseudonym Angela told him: ‘The colorful player of R&B, both in music and in technique and in approach.
‘Success and love … you presented these glittering jewels as if they were gold.
‘With each addition of a new victim, you grew into evil, arrogance, which diminished any form of humanity or self-awareness, which soon became the breeding ground for your God-like complex.
‘You have done despicable things, said and encouraged what no one should do.
“We claim our names back under the shadows of your afflicted trauma.”
Kelly’s conviction imposed a minimum sentence of 10 years, with federal prosecutors seeking a sentence of ‘more than 25 years’, while the singer’s own lawyers demanded that he get under 10.
MORE: R Kelly sentenced to 30 years in prison after conviction for sex trafficking
MORE: R Kelly faces years in prison for being convicted of racketeering and sex trafficking
