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R&B star R Kelly has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison by Judge Ann Donnelly for sex trafficking and abusing young girls as the judge told him ‘the public has to be protected.’
Judge Ann Donnelly handed down Kelly’s sentence in Brooklyn Federal Court on Wednesday, despite the defense lawyers’ request for a sentence of 10 years or less. Prosecutors had asked for at least 25 years.
Judge Donnelly told Kelly he created ‘a trail of broken lives,’ adding that ‘the most seasoned investigators will not forget the horrors your victims endured.’
Who is Ann Donnelly?
Ann Donnelly (born 1959) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
Donnelly received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1981 from the University of Michigan and a Juris Doctor in 1984 from the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.
From 1984 to 2009, she was a prosecutor in the New York County District Attorney’s Office.
From 1997 to 2005, she served as Senior Trial Counsel and from 2005 to 2009, she served as Chief of the Family Violence and Child Abuse Bureau.
As an assistant district attorney, Donnelly successfully prosecuted former Tyco International CEO L. Dennis Kozlowski for securities fraud and grand larceny, among other crimes.
Donnelly was also part of the prosecution team in the murder trial of Sante Kimes and her son, Kenneth Kimes.
From 2009 to 2015, she served as a judge of the New York Court of Claims. Concurrently, she served at various points on the New York Supreme Court (the state trial court) in Bronx County, Kings County (Brooklyn), and New York County (Manhattan), as well as on a Special Term for Election Matters.
As a state court judge, Donnelly presided over the trial of Adam Tang, a day trader convicted of reckless endangerment and reckless driving for his illegal high-speed street racing around Manhattan (circling the island in 24 minutes) and posting videos of the stunt on YouTube.
After Tang fled the country during his trial, Donnelly issued a warrant for his arrest and sentenced him in absentia to a year in jail.
On January 28, 2017, Donnelly issued an emergency stay blocking part of an executive order issued by President Donald Trump from going into effect.
The ruling enjoined the federal government from deporting individuals who had arrived in the country with valid visas or refugee status.
Several minutes after Donnelly entered her order, another judge, Leonie M. Brinkema of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration from preventing the return of lawful permanent residents at Dulles International Airport.
She also tried the singer R. Kelly in his sex trafficking trial, where he was convicted of all charges and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 4, 2022.
