R. Kelly Faces Life Sentence After Decades of Sexual Abuse Allegations, Now Found Guilty

Further trials may lie ahead.

R&B musician and author of the hit “I Believe I Can Fly” R. Kelly was found guilty of sexually exploiting women and teenage girls. For more than 25 years the singer was accused of abuse, but only now faces his first criminal sentence, which could be life imprisonment. 

First trial

R. Kelly (Robert Kelly) is known as a performer and songwriter of R&B hits in the 1990s and 2000s. Billboard calls him one of the most influential artists of that era. His albums topped the magazine’s list of the 200 most popular music albums six times. 

One of the singer’s best-known hits is “I Believe I Can Fly,” which earned him three Grammy Awards in 1998. In 2004, journalists at Rolling Stone included it in their list of “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.” 

The first criminal case against R. Kelly was related to child pornography. In 2002 he was charged with recording himself having sex with a 14-year-old girl and urinating on her. Six years later the case went to trial, but after the alleged victim and her parents refused to testify, the musician was acquitted. 

In 2017, BuzzFeed published an investigation claiming the artist lived with six women at the same time while fully controlling their lives. In 2019, the documentary series “Surviving R. Kelly” even came out, in which several women accused him of abuse. 

Activists called for a boycott of R. Kelly’s music, and his hits almost stopped being played on the radio and other commercial platforms. However, his music remained consistently popular online. On Spotify alone, R. Kelly’s music attracts 5.2 million monthly listeners, although the company initially removed the tracks on ethical grounds (later it abandoned the new rules). 

Second trial and sentence

The second trial was supposed to begin in May 2020, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, hearings were postponed until August 2021. The singer was charged on nine counts: eight for human trafficking and one for racketeering. The jury had to consider 14 major crimes under the racketeering charge, including bribery, kidnapping and forced labor. 

The case was built on videos and audio recordings in which a man with R. Kelly’s voice threatens or punishes women, and on letters that the artist’s partners wrote at his demand. 45 witnesses testified in court, including former girlfriends and R. Kelly’s employees. The criminal charges were based on testimony from six women: five testified in court, while the sixth, singer Aaliyah, died in a plane crash in 2001. 

The singer’s former manager confirmed long-standing rumors that R. Kelly married Aaliyah when she was 15. He admitted that in 1994 he obtained a forged ID for the girl with the help of a bribe. The witness said R. Kelly decided to marry because he feared the girl was pregnant and that he could be prosecuted for having sex with a minor. 

Other witnesses reported sexual violence, cruel treatment and restrictions that women and girls in the singer’s circle had to observe. R. Kelly demanded to be called “Daddy” and that they ask permission to go to the toilet. For breaking the rules he devised cruel punishments, from whipping to forcing them to eat feces. 

During the trial, R. Kelly refused to testify in his own defense and did not plead guilty. His lawyers tried to portray the witnesses as liars, obsessed fans and money grabbers. According to them, the sex took place by mutual consent, and the musician was a caring partner. 

On September 27, the jury decided that the singer’s guilt was proven on everything he was charged with, except for two episodes under the racketeering count. R. Kelly faces life imprisonment (the racketeering charge carries up to 20 years in prison, and each human trafficking count up to 10 years). The musician will be sentenced on May 4, 2022, and in the coming weeks his lawyers may challenge the jury’s verdict. 

Gloria Allred
Lawyer representing several victims

Let this be a message to other celebrities who use their fame in the same way to hunt their fans. The question is not whether the law will catch up with you, but when. 

CNN reports that further trials may lie ahead, as the singer has been charged with several offenses in Minnesota and Illinois, including producing child pornography, sexual abuse, obstruction of justice and involving minors in prostitution.