R. Kelly has been in the focus of the hurricane for some time now, after nine months ago he was found guilty in a trial that lasted six weeks and in which dozens of people testified against him. Today the process comes to an end and the singer has been sentenced in New York to 30 years in prison for organized crime and sexual abuse and trafficking.
The star of the R
Lizzette Martínez is one of them and she did not hesitate to remind the room that she is still fighting her mental problems. Just like Angela, who claimed that the artist had used his fame and her power to "deceive and train underage boys and girls for her own sexual gratification."
The defendant's defense requested the acquittal of the winner of several Grammy awards or, failing that, a repeat trial. Something that the federal judge presiding over the trial, Ann Donnely, has denied because, she says, he was accused of using his fame and his organization to lure young people into abusive sexual relationships -an organized crime enterprise that, according to the Government, lasted about 25 years-.
Throughout the process, the Prosecutor's Office called "45 witnesses to the stand and presented hundreds of pieces of evidence, including written, videotaped, and audiotaped evidence of the abuse to which the defendant, with the help of his employees and associates, subjected his victims", as indicated by the local media.
Prosecutors had asked the judge for a sentence of more than 25 years, and a fine between $50,000 and $250,000 "in light of the seriousness of the crimes, the need to serve as a deterrent and the need to protect the public from new defendant's crimes.
For its part, the defense requested that it not exceed ten years, alleging the "traumatic childhood of the accused, including evidence of a history of sexual abuse by family members and non-family members."
The women described a charismatic celebrity onstage who frequently targeted young victims who attended his concerts, sometimes sexually assaulting them behind the scenes minutes after the event.
The testimonies also revealed prolonged abuse by Kelly against his partners, whom he beat and forced to call him "daddy" (daddy). Likewise, she controlled how they dressed, when they could use the bathroom or eat, how they should interact with other men or if they could leave the rooms of the residences or hotels in which she kept them.
The thing does not end here, because it has also been known that the singer used a whole network of employees to help him in his efforts to attract young girls, isolate them and intimidate them.
