R. Kelly to hand over $500k in royalties for victims’ compensation

In a new decision, a court has ordered R. Kelly and Universal Music Group (UMG) to pay over $500,000 in music royalties for his victim’s restitution.

R. Kelly, a famous American musician, was sentenced by the courts to twenty years in prison for charges of sexual assault and child pornography in 2022. 

This year, in a landmark decision, a New York judge ruled that R. Kelly and Universal Music Group must pay more than $500,00 in music royalties to his sexual abuse victims.

The musician is stated to owe about $507,234 to his victims’ restitution as well as other criminal fines. Universal currently holds possession of the singer’s music royalties by virtue of being a musician. So the court order is the judgment will be satisfied using his royalties.

A court found R. Kelly, now 56 years old, guilty on nine counts of sex trafficking and racketeering.‘Surviving R. Kelly' is a Lifetime documentary series that details the singer's crimes and shares the victims' stories. They also sentenced him to another set of sex crimes in the state of Chicago for twenty years. However, because of the work of his lawyers, he will be serving those sentences at the same time. Universal Music Group will send the money to Brooklyn federal prosecutors to help oversee the disbursement to the restoration of his sexual assault victims.

This new development shows the continued downward spiral of a once-renowned artist. The whole situation also highlights the dangers of letting celebrities behave unchecked and the harm they can do to the unfortunate individuals who encounter them.

Before his sentencing as a convicted criminal, R. Kelly enjoyed a remarkable career. Critics dub him ‘the King of R&B’ while he calls himself ‘The pied piper of R&B.' It is notable that the myth of the pied piper also includes a man running off with the children of a village.