On February 23, 2023, Harvey Weinstein, 70, was sentenced to 16 years in prison following his December 2022 convictions for rape and sexual assault in California. Weinstein is already serving a 23-year prison sentence for his 2020 rape and sexual assault convictions in New York. Several survivors testified about the abuse they suffered at Weinstein’s 2020 trial, recounting how their lives were drastically altered by his abuse. In a statement after the sentencing, the attorney for two of the survivors stated that “their testimony gave them the power to reclaim their voices, both for themselves and on behalf of the many other women who were abused by Harvey Weinstein.” The attorney further stated that, “[The conviction] can’t erase the trauma they’ve endured, but it can serve as a catalyst for change and provide hope to other survivors.”
On the same day, Robert Sylvester Kelly, 56, commonly known as R. Kelly, was sentenced to 20 years in prison following his September 2022 convictions for child pornography and obstruction of justice in Illinois. Kelly is already serving a 30-year prison sentence for his 2021 racketeering and sex trafficking convictions in New York. U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber ordered that 19 of the 20 years will be served alongside and not in addition to his existing prison time. This means that Kelly will serve 31 years total. Judge Leinenweber stated, “everybody agrees that the nature of this offense is horrible, horrific.” Kelly’s age at the end of his New York sentence factored into Judge Leinenweber’s sentencing. He stated that, if Kelly serves his complete 31-year sentence, he will be in his mid-80s when he is released from prison. He further stated that, since Kelly’s Chicago federal case was originally up for prosecution before his New York case, he would have sentenced Kelly to 240 months had the federal case been tried first.
In October of 2021, we reported that Kelly was accused of abusing and exploiting women and girls long before his New York trial. Twenty-seven years passed between the first abuse allegations against Kelly and his guilty verdict on September 27, 2021. During Kelly’s trial relating to sex trafficking charges in New York, prosecutors accused Kelly of using his fame to entice and manipulate young girls and women.
In June of 2022, we reported that Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison following his 2021 convictions for sex trafficking and racketeering in federal court in New York. Kelly was charged with violating the Mann Act, a federal law criminalizing the transportation of “any woman or girl for the purpose of prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose.” When determining Kelly’s sentence, the court heard impact statements from seven survivors of Kelly’s abuse.
In September of 2022, we also reported that Kelly was found guilty of producing child pornography and coercing a minor to engage in sexual activity. During the 2022 trial, which lasted from August to September, the jury heard testimony from “Jane,” one of Kelly’s victims. By bravely testifying, Jane, and three other victims, helped to ensure that Kelly would be found responsible for his crimes.
Wealth and power are at the center of Weinstein’s and Kelly’s crimes. Both men weaponized their celebrity status to attract and victimize young girls by creating an unequal power dynamic. For decades, both of these men silenced their victims through bribery, intimidation, blackmail, and physical violence. In the words of Breon S. Peace, the U.S. Attorney who prosecuted Kelly for his 2021 racketeering and sex trafficking charges, “… it doesn’t matter how powerful, rich, or famous your abuser may be or how small they may make you feel. Justice only hears the truth.”
The CSE Institute commends the bravery and strength of the survivors for testifying against their abusers, despite threats to their own personal safety and being forced to relive the pain of some of the most traumatic moments of their lives. After all, it is irrefutable that survivor voices will be the ones to promulgate change in the trafficking and sexual assault narrative. The CSE Institute also commends the efforts of the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Superior Court of Los Angeles County and the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois for their dedication to ensuring that Weinstein and Kelly are held responsible for their crimes.
The CSE Institute will continue to provide updates on this matter as it proceeds.
All views expressed herein are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law or of Villanova University.