The victims of embattled R&B singer R. Kelly have finally received some justice after he was found guilty by a federal jury in New York on the main racketeering count in the indictment.
Kelly was accused of grooming, trafficking and sexually abusing women and underage girls. He is charged with one count of racketeering and eight counts of illegally transporting people across state lines for the purpose of sex.
His sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 4, 2022, and the singer could spend the remainder of his life behind bars.
Nine women and two men testified in court that R. Kelly sexually abused them. The jury heard testimony from over 50 people over a six-week period.
R. Kelly accuser Jerhonda Pace testified that the star had sexually abused her in 2009 when she was 16 — and that he had given her genital herpes. She said that the singer did not tell her he had herpes.
A doctor then testified before a judge that he had been treating the singer for genital herpes since at least 2007 — meaning that he knowingly infected multiple people with the sexually transmitted disease.
During an interview on “The Rickey Smiley Show” last month, Aaliyah Haughton’s uncle, Barry Hankerson, opened up about the first time he learned of the abuse.
Kelly allegedly married Aaliyah when she was just 15 by bribing officials to falsify documents. She was reportedly pregnant at the time.
“To be very honest with you, of course, I was upset. I had to really, really consider what my actions would be,” he said. “I found out, I wasn’t a hardcore criminal. I couldn’t kill nobody. So, I took it, I’m a Muslim, and I went to Minster Farrakhan and we just prayed about it, resolved ourselves to let God handle him. I think that’s what’s going on. Ain’t no sense in two lives getting destroyed,” he shared.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Kelly’s victims and their families.
