In an exclusive interview, he tells Grinne McCarry about the shock of being a non-smoker with a smoker's disease - and how his wife, BBC NI's Donna Traynor (42), has helped him cope. One woman, who testified under a pseudonym, initially had come to his defense in a television interview in 2019. The intervening months will be busy. This is by far the highest-profile, post-Me Too conviction involving sexual abuse that weve seen in the music industry. Mr. Kellys lawyers spent more time cross-examining her than any other witness and homed in on discrepancies in her accounts over time. "When you're faced with something like this your mortality comes to the fore," he admits. Jacquelyn M. Kasulis, the acting U.S. attorney in Brooklyn, told reporters that the verdict sent a powerful message to men like Mr. Kelly. Mr. Kelly also faces charges in at least two other states, including federal child pornography and obstruction counts in Chicago. "But you shouldn't ignore your body when it is trying to tell you something. Instead, they helped convict him. Heaven knows what it was like on the inside. he was acquitted of child pornography in 2008. As the verdict was read, he sat motionless in the courtroom, wearing a navy blue suit and glasses, with his facial expression hidden behind a mask. Whatever the results were, they would deal with it and they would do it together. Two weeks into his radiotherapy sessions, the side effects kicked in. Im needing massages every other day, because this thing has been heavy.. He added that he hoped the women and men who testified against the singer could now begin a healing process and restore the aspects of their lives that Mr. Kelly had destroyed. Let this be a message to other celebrities who also use their fame to prey on their fans and others who are unfortunate enough to come into contact with them. "She was the one that was going to work every day, maintaining her composure as she broadcast live and then returning home to me every evening and becoming my carer," says Ronan. In the next few weeks, Mr. Kellys lawyers can file motions seeking to overturn the verdict. But as the Me Too movement continued to gain steam, cracks in his armor began to show, as new women and their families came forward, a protest campaign was waged to boycott his music and a jarring documentary delved into the accusations around him. If I get up in the morning and I feel ok, I will do things with my day. What happened to Kelly Ronahan? A documentary investigating his crimes, Surviving R Kelly, helped force him back into the spotlight. A handful of supporters claimed seats each day in the back of the courtroom where the public and reporters could watch the proceedings via closed-circuit video. Night time is hard. But Elizabeth Geddes, an assistant U.S. attorney, told the panel that their decision would serve to hold the fallen superstar accountable for the decades of pain and torment he inflicted. A . He hit her often, she said, and forced her to get an abortion. But the pandemic delayed the start date for 15 months. The two records were both produced by Mr. Kelly, and hers went gold. Ms. Pace, who was one of the earliest women to go public with her accusations in a 2017 BuzzFeed article, told jurors that Mr. Kelly had begun having sex with her in 2009, when she was 16. "Unfortunately, on two occasions I had to be admitted to hospital for two or three nights at a time.". He shot to fame after a video of him fighting with another TikToker for mocking his outfits went viral online. The guilty verdict came swiftly, particularly given the complexity of the case against R. Kelly and the lengthy trial. And when that was not enough, Mr. Kelly used his henchmen to lodge threats and exact revenge, blackmailing women with nude photographs of themselves or embarrassing information, one prosecutor, Elizabeth Geddes, said in closing arguments. A woman who spoke publicly for the first time was believed. The charges include bribery, forced labor, kidnapping, exploitation of a child, racketeering involving six alleged victims, and sexual trafficking across state lines. Deveraux L. Cannick, R. Kellys lawyer, said the defense team would appeal the singers guilty verdict after he was found guilty of racketeering and 8 counts of sex trafficking. We had our lives all planned out and were very much looking forward to the many adventures ahead. Today, my voice was heard, Jerhonda Pace wrote on Instagram. At the Brooklyn sentencing, Judge Ann M. Donnelly will be able to consider victim-impact statements and testimony from Mr. Kellys accusers, some of which will be filed with the court ahead of time. When defense asked for a poll, each juror responded with a variety of "yes." Racketeering cases against individual defendants are rare. "People ring up and ask how I am, and maybe forget to ask how Donna is coping," says Ronan, his once-mellifluous voice still a raspy whisper following treatment. They underestimated the resilience and courage of the victims who refused to be silenced.. The backlash to Mr. Kellys role was so swift that Drakes longtime producer, Noah Shebib, issued an explanation on Instagram: One of Mr. Kellys songs was playing, barely audibly, in the background of another clip in the song. His neck is slightly pink on each side, the only visible sign of his treatment. She said he once choked her until she passed out after she disobeyed one of his rules, and then forced her to perform a sex act on him. Guardians of the galaxy took over the power stone from him in 2014. As well as the care of medical experts, Ronan's recovery has been - and is being - bolstered by Donna's unstinting support and encouragement. One important takeaway from the verdict: What it could mean to the family of the singer Aaliyah, who died in 2001. Surprisingly, he says, the mood there was usually upbeat: "I didn't see too many sad faces when I was there - just the look of hope. As Ronan puts it, Donna is "currently a newsreader by day, a carer by night". Kelly still living his life the way he always has. Its a sad day, she said, her voice breaking. 'Am I going to die?' Federal prosecutors also accused Mr. Kelly of paying witnesses to not cooperate with the authorities in the lead-up to his 2008 trial and acquittal. When you go with the discovery, you saw witness after witnesses giving three, four, five different versions as to what they said happened here. Im eager to see how that calculus changes now that theres a guilty verdict. If I had been by myself, what would I have done? The singer Sparkle testified at R. Kellys first criminal trial that he had filmed a sex tape with her teenage niece. Peer accountability really is the true end here, Ms. Hampton said. A young Kelowna woman asked for a very different Christmas present this season, one that could help save lives. One accuser initially defended Mr. Kelly after he faced legal troubles. "She doesn't like to be described as my carer, but that's what she was doing every night when I couldn't stop coughing and needed someone to reassure me when I found it difficult to breathe. After the verdict, Dream Hampton, the productions executive producer, said on Twitter that she was grateful to the survivors. Second, he used the power of his business enterprise, and many of his inner circle employees, to assist him and enable him in his plan and his scheme to lure his victims to him, isolate them, intimidate them, control them, indoctrinate them, punish them, shame them and humiliate them. Less than two years later, when the woman who had written the letter testified under a pseudonym, she said she had experienced coerced and recorded sexual encounters with the singer starting when she was 17. But for most of that time, the accusations were not enough to derail his music career. The seven men and five women of the jury, whose ages and races were unclear throughout the trial, ultimately sided with their position. With just five more treatments to go, I've been counting them down like a DJ on Top of the Pops. As one of the province's best-known and best-loved media couples, the pair are more used to covering the news, rather than making it. Sparkle, the singer who testified that her niece was the underage girl at the center of R. Kellys trial in 2008, told me after his conviction that she was feeling a bevy of emotions as her voice broke over the phone. At age 16, Kelly and his family moved from the projects, and he was enlisted in a prestigious school, Kenwood Academy. He underestimated the resilience and courage of the victims who refused to be silenced, Mr. Fitzhugh said. When radiotherapy patients arrive at the Cancer Centre, they are given a saucer-like buzzer which lights up and vibrates when it's their turn. Doesnt sit well with me let me just say that.. January 29, 2022 by Mary. The following week he and Donna met with cancer unit staff. Facebook gives people the power to. 1. Roberts has been hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center . 3. A court conference in that case has been set for Oct. 20. I couldn't have rung for an ambulance. "And I was very glad to have her there - a reassuring voice talking to me throughout my coughing fits was very important. For many, R. Kellys case and conviction offered the sense that the movement could serve them, too, giving them a chance to hold men accountable. But in recent years, his musical repertoire was largely expunged from the radio and public spaces, a fate that would likely persist with his conviction. Behind the banter, though, the strain of the couple's ordeal is plainly evident. I knew by his face that the news wasn't going to be good. Ms. Allred represented three of the six victims whose accounts were at the center of the case, as well as two other key witnesses in the trial. She's always there for me - even when she's at work she is phoning me constantly to see if I'm ok and I whisper back that I'm fine. Its popularity there on Spotify, his music draws 5.2 million listeners each month suggests a fan base that has never left. Previously, however, R Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison on June 29, 2022. We are not giving up, one woman shouted into a megaphone, as Mr. Kellys lawyers left the courthouse Monday afternoon. Protesters gathered outside Sony headquarters in New York in 2019. He is a church-trained singer, which significantly contrasts with the messages in his music. R. Kelly sat motionless in the courtroom as he was found guilty of all nine counts of the racketeering and sex-trafficking charges against him. "In broadcasting, we use a technique called diaphragmatic breathing to keep calm in moments of stress, so I did that. The director of the upcoming Christie adaptation, "The Mousetrap," ends up dead and "staged" in the theater proscenium. Ronan laughs. In their failed attempt to evade justice, Mr. Kelly and his associates made one critical error. One of the six women at the center of Mr. Kellys trial had never spoken publicly about their accusations: Stephanie, who took the stand using only her first name. His doctor thought he had a virus and told him to return in a week if his voice hadn't improved. Ms. Kasulis said that Mr. Kellys conviction on Monday delivered a powerful message to both the entertainer and other influential men: No matter how long it takes, the long arm of the law will catch up with you., Addressing what he called a decades-long reign of terror inflicted by Mr. Kelly, Peter Fitzhugh, a special agent-in-charge at Homeland Security Investigations, the investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, said that the singer made one critical error.. It is my hope that through this trial and the toll that it has taken to get to this point, that we recognize that the movement is not at its fullest strength if everyone doesnt have equal access to justice, she said. By Kelly Richman-Abdou on March 12, 2022. The intervening months will be busy. R. Kellys trial could become musics #MeToo moment. Many of their accounts were bolstered by evidence, and the allegations spanned decades. R. Kellys sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 4, 2022. He was embraced by the congregation. And their lives matter.. His teacher entered him into a local talent show to perform a Stevie Wonder song. By then, Mr. Kelly had not had a hit in a number of years. After the singer pleaded not guilty to the charges that led to his 2008 trial, he performed alongside children at a church in Chicago the same day. Ms. Pace became the first accuser to ever testify against Mr. Kelly at a criminal trial when she took the stand last month. ", March 29, 2007: Royal Victoria Hospital - ENT Ward. "When my treatment was over, I said to her 'I'm going to miss this' so we've continued to meet up every other week. Prosecutors thank R. Kellys accusers, saying verdict forever brands him as a predator. He obsessively collected message slips and letters written by the women he interacted with some of them underage according to Ryan Chabot, the lead federal investigator in the case. R. Kellys conviction represents a major #MeToo moment for Black women. It was like the first day at school as Donna and I made our way to the City Hospital. The trial itself represented a peculiar spectacle of the current moment. ". A supporter reacted after R. Kelly was found guilty Monday. reporting that first emerged in the early 2000s. "We didn't discuss the impending results at all, " he says. Im just hopeful that its all over., She added: I wish and I pray that moving forward that Black women are listened to., Outside the courthouse, Gloria Allred, a lawyer for several of R. Kelly's accusers, praised the verdict and addressed the three decades of accusations it took for Mr. Kelly to be convicted: We understand that justice moves at a glacial pace.. Some of Mr. Kellys steadfast supporters continue to believe he is the victim of a larger, racist conspiracy to keep successful Black men from thriving, and that view was once more widespread in Black communities before his trial, experts note. Its a sad day. We assume that 15-year-old Black girls have the cognitive ability to manipulate a grown man.. The R&B singer was found guilty of sexual misconduct with two other minors around the same time period, as well. For many years, what happened in the defendants world stayed in the defendants world, Ms. Geddes said in her closing argument. They eventually broke up due to a conflict over money. 2. But the case does not stop when a verdict is reached, Ms. Hampton said. Shame on them.. Ronan Kelly (49), one of Ulster's best-known broadcasters, has been battling throat cancer for the past four months. She went on to appear in a variety of films over the years, including Witness in 1985, The Accused in 1988, and The Babe . R. Kelly is going to prison. These were crimes against children and some adults. But, when he started having to cancel work, alarm bells rang. The activist Tarana Burke started the original iteration of Me Too around 2007, using the phrase to raise awareness of sexual assault and connect victims to resources. 5. After one of Mr. Kellys defense lawyers dwelled on the topic of twerking, Judge Donnelly reprimanded him in a sidebar away from jurors. Disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison Wednesday following his conviction last year on federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges stemming from his efforts over. Jerhonda Pace, left, became the first accuser to ever testify against R. Kelly when she took the stand in August. A handful of reporters were allowed into the actual courtroom for the verdict, and we were able to see the jury and R. Kellys reaction. But the statute, which has commonly been used to take down mob organizations, was recently employed successfully against the Nxivm sex cult. Ultimately, they did. The issue is not if the law will catch up to you. ), Creating collateral keeps adolescents captive, she said, and creates a power dynamic she likened to slowly sucking the oxygen out of the room and once you realize it, you cant get out.. It was not enough for jurors, and the singer was acquitted of child pornography charges in 2008. After his acquittal of child pornography charges in 2008, it seemed as though Mr. Kellys career was impenetrable to criticism. Mr. Kelly, 54, once one of the biggest names in popular music, now faces the possibility of life in prison, capping a remarkable reversal of fortune. "However, I've also been told the cancer could lead to secondaries so I'll be closely monitored over the next five years. Today, Mr. Kelly has been largely shunned by the music industry at large; Lady Gaga, for example, apologized for working with him and removed the track they recorded together in 2013. She and four others were brutally murdered in her home by Charles Manson's family in 1969. In an earlier interview in the days before the singers conviction, she described the case as a big relief and an enormous release of the regrets, hardships and frustrations she has held for decades. In an exclusive interview, he tells Grinne McCarry about the shock of being. Prosecutors in Chicago had argued that a videotape showed him having sex with and urinating on an underage girl. Mr. Kelly also . It hadn't. And when the days ended, many cheered and shook hands with Mr. Kellys defense lawyers while jeering federal prosecutors as they left the building. This was day 15. There have also been multiple rumours that . Even before 2000, when The Chicago Sun-Times published the first major investigation into allegations of abuse by Mr. Kelly, he had settled lawsuits accusing him of having sex with underage girls; in 1994, at 27, he had married Aaliyah, who was 15 years old, allegedly using forged documents. The government cherry-picked the version that they thought would be a continuation of the narrative that was first put out by Cheryl Mack and Surviving R. Kelly, and they cherry-picked a version and ran with that version. "It's funny how quickly you get into a routine and get used to meeting familiar faces - I began to look forward to my treatments!" Is Kelly Ronahan dead? The R&B singer was found guilty of sexual misconduct with two other minors around the same time period, as well. Is R Kelly still alive or dead? "That was reassuring," he says. As a result, Lonahan relied on regular blood transfusions, sometimes up to once a week. Understandably, some of the first-timers looked a bit nervous. 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