R. Kelly is sentenced to 30 years in prison

The disgraced R&B star R. Kelly was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in prison.

He was sentenced in New York by federal Judge Ann Donnelly

"This case is not about sex," the judge said. "It is about violence, cruelty and control."

Last year, Kelly was found guilty of charges including sexual exploitation of a child, racketeering, bribery and sex trafficking.

The jury found the government proved Kelly was at the head of a criminal conspiracy to recruit and coerce girls, boys and women into sex.

Kelly forced his victims to perform sexual acts for his gratification.

Before the judge announced Kelly's sentence, seven women made their own statements to and about him and about the abuse they suffered.

An accuser who had appeared in Surviving R. Kelly, said after the sentencing, "There wasn't a day in my life, up until this moment, that I actually believed that the judicial system would come through for Black and brown girls. Thirty years did he do this, and 30 years is what he got."

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