Robert Sylvester Kelly famously known as R.Kelly is a 55-year-old R&B Singer was on Wednesday sentenced to 30 years in prison.
The hearing took place in the federal court in Brooklyn with US District court judge Ann Donnelly giving the verdict.
R.Kelly pleaded not guilty to all of the charges in the case following his conviction last year on federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges stemming from his efforts over years to use his fame to ensnare victims he sexually abused.
In deciding the sentence, Judge Donnelly said she considered Kelly’s own traumatic childhood, during which his attorney wrote he was repeatedly abused by a family member and a landlord, which may explain at least in a part, what led to his behavior.
Defense attorneys and prosecutors requested on Wednesday in court whether Kelly could pay a fine but the judge said he is “pretty close to indigent” and he could not.
Kelly is being held at a federal detention facility in Brooklyn and is expected to be moved to Chicago, where he will face another federal trial in August on child pornography and obstruction charges.
BY JOY WAMBUI