R. Kelly gets a 20 year sentence – here’s a timeline of what eventually led to this judgement
R. Kelly - whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly - has been sentenced 20 years in prison for child pornography and other charges.
Associated Press reports that a U.S. judge handed him a 20-year prison term for child pornography and other charges on 23 February 2023.
According to the publication, he will serve most of this simultaneously with the 30-year sentence he is currently serving. The infamous singer was convicted of leading a decades-long sex crime scheme after a New York jury found him guilty of separate racketeering and sex trafficking charges.
According to Al Jazeera, the 54-year-old was found guilty of nine charges, including one of racketeering. This conviction comes six weeks after victims shared their testimonies of the disgraced singer’s involvement in the recruiting of women and teenagers for sex, before grooming and brutally abusing them.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the trial - which officially began in 2019 after years of rumours - was delayed in 2020.
Let’s take a look at some of the events that led to his conviction:
1994: R Kelly illegally marries minor, Aaliyah
In August 1994, a then 27-year-old R Kelly married a 15-year-old Aaliyah illegally. According to Sky News, R Kelly and Aaliyah wed in a secret ceremony following the release of her debut album, Age Aint Nothing But a Number.
R Kelly had allegedly gotten his former tour manager, Demetrius Smith, to bribe a government official who granted them a fake ID.
1996: R Kelly gets sued and accused of sleeping with a minor
2000: Article accuses R Kelly of using his influence to sleep with minors
2001: Intern at R Kelly’s record label accuses him of sexual harassment
The following year, Tracy Sampson, who interned at Epic Records when she was a teenager filed a lawsuit against Kelly, alleging their sexual contact was illegal under Illinois law because he was in a “position of authority” over her.
The lawsuit was settled in 2002 for $250 000.
2002: A report on R Kelly allegedly having sex with a minor in a videotape surfaces
In 2002, The Chicago Sun Times once again exposed the singer; this time they reported that one of its reporters, Jim DeRogatis, had anonymously received a 29-minute-long videotape allegedly showing Kelly having sex with a minor.
This report later caused the singer to be charged with a child pornography charge. He pleaded not guilty and was released on $750 000 bail.
2005: R Kelly’s wife, Andrea, files for a protection order against him
2008: R Kelly’s child pornography trial begins
2009: R Kelly and wife get divorced
2017: Parents accuse R Kelly of keeping their children in an abusive cult
2018: Faith Rodgers files a lawsuit against R Kelly for sexual battery, mental and verbal abuse and knowingly giving her herpes
The following year, advocacy group Time’s Up and others associated with the broader #MeToo movement called for deeper investigation into Kelly’s alleged behaviour. This resulted in Spotify removing Kelly’s music from its platform.
Later that year, 20-year-old Faith Rodgers filed a lawsuit accusing Kelly of sexual battery, mental and verbal abuse, and knowingly giving her herpes.
2019: Surviving R Kelly documentary is aired, R Kelly gets arrested
In January 2019, Lifetime channel premiers Surviving R Kelly, a documentary series that chronicles the allegations against the singer and features interviews with several of his accusers.
A month after the documentary’s premier, R Kelly was arrested and charged in Chicago with 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse.
2020: R Kelly pleads not guilty
2021: R Kelly is found guilty
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