R. Kelly appears during a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse on September 17, 2019, in Chicago, Illinois. | Source: Pool / Getty
On Monday, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx announced that she’s dropping sex-abuse charges against R. Kelly.
Despite Monday’s decision, the disgraced singer already has two federal convictions, almost guaranteeing he’ll still spend the next several decades behind bars.
“Mr. Kelly is potentially looking at the possibility of never walking out of prison again for the crimes that he’s committed,” the Chicago prosecutor said, referring to his federal convictions. “While today’s cases are no longer being pursued, we believe justice has been served.”
Late last year, a Brooklyn judge ruled that the R&B singer’s prison commissary account will be drained and will be used to pay back his victims.
NY Post stated: “Federal Judge Ann Donnelly ordered the Bureau of Prisons to turn over $27,828 from Kelly’s inmate trust account in a Chicago lockup to be put in an interest-accruing account until she determines how much money should be paid in restitution to his victims.”
The decision came after the judge says that he hadn’t paid almost $150,000 in fines and fees after being convicted last year in his sexual abuse cases.
“The government is entitled to the defendant’s funds because he owes substantial fines,” Donnelly said. “I am also mindful of victims’ rights ‘to full and timely restitution.’”
Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison following his conviction in New York City last year for sex trafficking.
Kelly was found guilty of nine criminal counts for sexually abusing multiple underage boys and girls as well as women over the course of more than three decades. The court ruled specifically that he violated the Mann Act, a law that prohibits “the transportation therein for immoral purposes of women and girls, and for other purposes.”
Kelly would use his fame and fortune to lure impressionable young Black people before violating them sexually.
A parade of Kelly’s victims took the stand to testify about horrific accounts of sexual abuse they suffered when they were teenagers before a jury took nine hours to find him guilty on all counts.
“This verdict was a long time coming and although it doesn’t bring automatic healing to his survivors, I hope it brings a sense of closure that can help facilitate the healing process,” #MeToo founder Tarana Burke told iOne Digital following the verdict.
Kelly was previously convicted of racketeering and eight counts of an anti-sex trafficking law that could have seen him sent to prison for the rest of his life.
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R. Kelly Is Controlling Ex-Girlfriend Joycelyn Savage From Prison, Her Parents Claim
Chicago Prosecutor Drops R. Kelly Sex Abuse Charges: ‘Justice Has Been Served’ was originally published on theboxhouston.com
