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R Kelly Gets 30 Yrs In Prison In Sex Case: History Of Accusations Against The Singer

American songwriter-record producer R Kelly, Robert Sylvester Kelly, was sentenced to 30 years in prison on June 30 for leading a decade-long effort to recruit and trap teenagers and women for sex.

Two Decades Of Sexual Abuse Allegations

American songwriter-record producer R Kelly, Robert Sylvester Kelly, was sentenced to 30 years in prison on June 30 for leading a decade-klong 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. The singer has been in jail since July 2019. In September 2021, Kelly was found guilty of eight counts of sex trafficking and one of racketeering in a New York court.

For over two decades, Kelly faced several allegations of sexual abuse, accounts going back to the start of his career in the 1990s.

The Aaliyah Scandal

When Kelly was 27, he married Aaliyah at a secret ceremony in Chicago. The singer had lied about her age and listed herself as 18, but she was just 15 years old at that time. Vibe magazine later discovered Aaliyah's real age. The marriage was then annulled in February 1995. A former tour manager for Kelly later testified at his trial that he had bribed a government worker in 1994 to obtain a fake ID for Aaliyah so they could get married. In 2001, Aaliyah died in a plane crash.

​Tiffany Hawkins Lawsuit

In 1996, Tiffany Hawkins, the first girl to publicly accuse Kelly of sexual abuse, sued the singer for 10 million for the "personal injuries and emotional distress" she suffered during their three-year relationship.

In court filings, Hawkins said she started having sex with the singer in 1991 when she was 15. Rolling Stone reported that Hawkins had said that she "suffered personal injuries and severe emotional harm because she had sex with him and he encourage her to participate in group sex with him and other underage girls." The case was settled in 1998 for $250,000.

​Child Abuse Video Case

Kelly is charged with 21 counts of making child sexual abuse videos. Chicago police accused him of recording the acts and enticing a minor to participate in them. A video was anonymously sent to the Chicago Sun Times, who passed it on to police and that led to Kelly's arrest.

The singer, who was out on $750,000 bail immediately, denied the charges and later pleaded not guilty in court. It took six years for the case to come to trial where the jury eventually found Kelly not guilty on all counts as they could not prove if the girl on the tape was a minor.