Enlarge image
At the end of September, R&B singer R. Kelly was convicted of abuse (archive image)
Photo: FIRS MAURY / EPA
The perpetrator came on the night of June 11, 2020. He snuck to a parked SUV, poured gasoline on it and set it on fire. The car was parked in a house in Florida that had four adults and two children. One of the adults was allegedly sexually abused by R&B singer R. Kelly, 54, and was supposed to testify against him in the then ongoing trial. The aim of the arson: to scare the woman in order to silence her. The woman's mother called 911, in the background the children were crying and screaming.
On Wednesday, a Brooklyn district court sentenced the man to three years in prison for the crime.
The public prosecutor announced.
"It was a violent act to scare a witness and silence her," said the prosecutor in charge, Breon Peace.
"Intimidating witnesses and threatening crime victims undermines the foundations of our justice system and will never be tolerated," he said.
Eleven alleged victims had testified against Kelly
R. Kelly was found guilty of all nine charges in the same court in September this year, including the sexual exploitation of minors, kidnapping and forced labor.
During the trial, eleven alleged victims of Kelly testified.
Kelly had built a network of helpers who had helped him with his deeds.
According to media reports, the man who set fire to the woman's car is said to have had personal connections to Kelly: As reported by the US music magazine "Rolling Stone", he is said to have been related to an agent of Kelly.
R. Kelly became known worldwide in 1996 with the mega hit "I Believe I Can Fly".
He is currently in prison and the sentence for the acts for which he was convicted will not be announced until May 2022.
Another, similar process awaits him in Chicago.
has
