R&B star R. Kelly bags 30-year jail sentence for sexually assaulting minors

US federal district court in New York has given disgraced R&B superstar R. Kelly a 30-year jail sentence for sexually exploiting minors.

The court announced the prison sentence for the 55-year-old singer on Wednesday.

A US attorney said in a statement, “Kelly used his fame, fortune, and enablers to prey on the young, the vulnerable, and the voiceless for his own sexual gratification.”

The attorney also said, “Kelly exhibited a callous disregard for the devastation his crimes had on his victims and has shown no remorse for his conduct.”

Kelly’s lawyer said that 30 years in jail is like a life sentence for him, and his defense team is prepared to appeal.

Prosecutors had indicted Kelly on nine criminal charges for sexually abusing teenage girls for 12 years through 2010.

In last September, a jury convicted him on all the charges.

Singer and songwriter R. Kelly was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. He rose to stardom in the 1990s, selling millions of albums.

He was called the “King of R&B” and won the prestigious Grammy Award for the 1996 hit “I Believe I Can Fly.”