R&B star R Kelly was sentenced on Wednesday to 30 years in prison for federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges.

He was sentenced in New York by Federal Judge Ann Donnelly, who spoke in detail before the sentence was issued.

At one point, she cited the victim impact statement of a woman known in court as Stephanie, who told Kelly, "There was no price too high for someone else to pay for your happiness. " "This case is not about sex," the judge said. "It's about violence, brutality and control."

In 2019, the TV documentary Surviving R Kelly renewed interest in sexual abuse allegations against Kelly and a relentless push to pull Kelly off the airwaves and stages.

Kelly himself declined to address the court. His attorney cited pending cases: a second federal trial in Illinois, to begin August 15, and separate criminal charges in Minnesota.

Last year, Kelly was found guilty of charges including sexual abuse of a child, racketeering, bribery and sex trafficking. The jury found that the government proved that Kelly was at the head of a criminal conspiracy to recruit and coerce girls, boys and women to have sex.

"Obviously he's devastated," Kelly's attorney, Jennifer Bonzen, said outside the courthouse. "30 years jail is tantamount to life imprisonment for him, but at the same time we knew that the government was asking for 25 years.

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