Singer R. Kelly gets 30 years in jail over sex crimes

R&B singer R. Kelly's victim Lizzette Martinez (C), following his sentencing in Brooklyn

Singer R. Kelly is pictured during a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse in Chicago, Illinois in 2019

Disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years behind bars on Wednesday for leading a decades-long effort to recruit and trap teenagers and women for sex.

The sentence, stiffer than the 25 years in prison that prosecutors had sought, caps a long downfall for the 55-year-old former superstar.

In September, the "I Believe I Can Fly" artist was found guilty on all nine charges he faced, including the most serious of racketeering.

Breon Peace, the US attorney for the Eastern District of New York hailed the sentence as a "significant outcome" for the 11 victims who testified about the "horrific and sadistic abuse they endured."

Attorney Jennifer Bonjean told the judge that her client was the product of a "chaotic" upbringing that included being sexually abused as a child.

Kelly, a three-time Grammy Award-winner, chose not to speak at the hearing due to pending litigation.

In that case, Kelly and two of his former associates are alleged to have rigged the singer's 2008 pornography trial and hid years of sexual abuse of minors.

- #MeToo milestone -

It was also the first time Kelly faced criminal consequences for the abuse he for decades was rumored to have inflicted on women and children.

Calling 45 witnesses including 11 victims to the stand, they painstakingly presented a pattern of crimes they say the artist born Robert Sylvester Kelly carried out for years with impunity, capitalizing on his fame to prey on the less powerful.

Lurid testimony intended to prove those acts included rape, druggings, imprisonment and child pornography.

Several said they were told he could bolster their music industry aspirations.

Core to the state's case was Kelly's relationship with the late singer Aaliyah.

His former manager admitted in court to bribing a worker to obtain fake identification allowing the union, which was later annulled.

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