R. Kelly’s longtime manager, Donnell Russell, was sentenced to 20 months in prison on Thursday for stalking one of the victims who had accused the singer of sexual abuse. Per the Department of Justice, Donnell had faced several charges, including interstate stalking and harassment via emails, phone calls, and text messages in an effort to get her to withdraw her statements against the “Step In The Name Of Love” hitmaker.
The woman, simply identified as Jane Doe in the court documents, was persistently contacted by Donnell, who prosecutors say went to great lengths to make the victim change her mind and possibly retract her accusations against R. Kelly. The harassment was said to have gone on for about a year, where Donnell not only tried to “humiliate” the victim by threatening to leak her sexually explicit photos, according to U.S. attorney Breon Peace, but also threaten her well-being “in order to force her to dismiss her lawsuit.”
Shiid everybody that was involved should get life in prison. Not Just R Kelly pic.twitter.com/i7mxzQceUO
— Real Nigga Quezzy💯✊🏿 (@QuezzyQuez707) November 18, 2022
RELATED: R Kelly Sues Brooklyn Detention Center For Unlawful And Cruel Punishment
He continued, “The punishment meted out to the defendant today is a victory for crime victims, particularly those of sexual assault and abuse, who are often reluctant to come forward to law enforcement or pursue legal recourse, given the trauma and fear of retaliation associated with publicly discussing their experiences.”
While it’s unclear how Donnell obtained explicit photos of the victim, he’s said to have told her that if she didn’t cooperate with his demand, he would leak the images, as well as her sexual history, to the public. Her other option was to agree that she would pull out from court proceedings and dismiss her statements against R. Kelly, whom she accused of sexually abusing her for several years.
To make matters worse, however, Donnell even began communicating with Jane Doe’s mother, where he included a series of snaps of the victim, along with a disturbing text that read, “Just a sample. We will seek criminal charges. You’ve been warned,” followed with, “Publishing soon.”
R Kelly is a danger to young girls and he’s never gonna stop being a danger to young girls https://t.co/f0aAbRv6kp
— Brunette Bohemian (@Jane_Doe82) November 17, 2022
During his recent child pornography trial which took place in September, a Chicago courthouse convicted R. Kelly of six out of 13 counts, including obstruction of justice and enticing minors into sexual activities, though he had denied all charges.
A year prior, he had been sentenced to 30 years in prison for leading a scheme that sexually exploited teen girls over the course of more than 15 years.