(BBC) – US singer R. Kelly has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for using his status to run a scheme to sexually abuse children and women.
In September, a jury in New York convicted the R&B artist, 55, of racketeering and sex trafficking crimes.
The Chicago native – whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly – was also fined $100,000 (£82,525).
He currently faces separate criminal charges in three other cases.
Kelly – known for hit songs like I Believe I Can Fly and Ignition – was found to have used his celebrity status and sphere of influence to lure women and children into sexual abuse over two decades.
At his sentencing on Wednesday, US District Judge Ann Donnelly said the celebrity had used sex as a weapon, forcing his victims to do unspeakable things and saddling them with incurable diseases.
The sentence, she said, would act as a deterrent from committing similar crimes in the future.
