R Kelly has been sentenced to 30 years in the mang for sex trafficking and racketeering relating to bribery and forced labour.
The 90s R&B star was handed the term in New York for masterminding a scheme to sexually exploit young aspiring singers and underage children.
The 55-year-old was branded “the pied piper of R&B” at the US District Court as he was faced with several of his victims who detailed his “deplorable and inexplicable” abuse ahead of his sentencing on Wednesday.
Sentencing, Judge Ann Donnelly said Kelly had used his “minions” to “lure young fans into your orbit”.
The musician, real name Robert Sylvester Kelly, who denied all charges, was found guilty on all nine counts against him after a six-week trial in Brooklyn.
Dressed in a grey prison-issue uniform, Kelly did not react as his sentence was passed.
Seven women gave victim statements before his sentencing, saying Kelly had a “God-like complex” and used his “fame and power” to entice his prey.
A woman with the pseudonym Angela told him: “Success and love... you presented these glittering gems as if they were gold. With every addition of a new victim you grew in wickedness, cockiness, diminishing any form of humanity or self-awareness, which soon became the breeding ground for your God-like complex.
“You were doing, saying and encouraging despicable things that no one should be doing.
“We reclaim our names from beneath the shadows of your afflicted trauma.”
Another victim, known only as Jane Doe No.2 said: “You are an abuser, you are shameless, you are disgusting.”
The I Believe I Can Fly hitmaker has been detained at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn since his conviction.
Prosecutors had been seeking 25 years behind bars for Kelly in order to “protect the public”, while his defence asked for 10 or less.
They argued anything beyond 10 years in jail for his offences would be indefensible and claimed the prosecution’s desire to see the singer locked up for 25 years was “tantamount to a life sentence”.