“This case is not about sex,” the judge stated.”It is about violence, cruelty and control.”
After a lengthy discussion, Federal Judge Ann Donnelly punished him in New York.She read out in court a victim impact statement from a lady called Stephanie, who said, “No price was too high for someone else to pay for your happiness.”
Donnelly acknowledged the defense’s points, including Kelly’s difficult childhood, which included sexual abuse by his sister and a landlord.
She added, “You are a person who had great advantages—widespread fame and celebrity, untold money.”
Kelly declined to speak to the court. His attorney cited pending cases, including a second federal trial in Illinois, which is set to begin on August 15, and separate criminal charges in Minnesota. Child pornography and obstructing justice are among the charges.
# MeToo milestone
Kelly’s conviction in New York was highly considered a watershed moment in the #MeToo movement because it was the first major sex abuse trial where most of the accusers were black women.
It was also the first time Kelly faced criminal charges for the decades of abuse he was accused of perpetrating on women and children.
Prosecutors were tasked with proving Kelly guilty of racketeering, a federal charge commonly associated with organized crime syndicates, in which Kelly was depicted as the boss of an enterprise of associates who facilitated his abuse.
They painstakingly presented a pattern of crimes they claim artist-born Robert Sylvester Kelly committed for years with impunity, using his fame to prey on the less powerful, calling on 45 witnesses to the spot, including 11 victims.
Jurors had to find Kelly guilty of at least two of 14 “predicate acts”—crimes that were essential to a larger pattern of illegal wrongdoing—to convict him of racketeering.
Lurid testimony intended to prove those acts included rape, drugging, imprisonment, and child pornography accusations.
His accusers described events that frequently paralleled one another: Many of the alleged victims stated that they met the singer at concerts or mall performances and were then given slips of paper containing Kelly’s contact information by members of his entourage.
Several people said he was told he could help them advance in the music industry.
Prosecutors argued that everyone was “indoctrinated” into Kelly’s world, groomed for sex at his whim, and kept in line by “coercive means of control,” such as isolation and cruel disciplinary measures, which were played out in front of the jury.
The state’s case focused on Kelly’s relationship with the late singer Aaliyah. Kelly wrote and produced her first album, “Age Ain’t Nothin’ But A Number,” before marrying her illegally when she was 15 because he was afraid he had impregnated her.
His former manager admitted in court to bribing a worker to obtain fake identification, allowing the union to be formed, which was later revoked.
