Why did R Kelly get a longer sentence than Ghislaine Maxwell? A legal expert explains
A US trial heard that Kelly was a ‘prolific serial predator’ who preyed ‘on the young and vulnerable’
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Disgraced R&B singer R Kelly was sentenced to thirty years in prison on Wednesday following his conviction for sex trafficking and racketeering.
In response to this news, many compared his sentencing to that of Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who received twenty years in jail for her sex trafficking conviction.
One Twitter user wrote: “Can someone please explain to me how R Kelly received a prison sentence 10 years longer than Ghislaine Maxwell?”
Some social media users also spectulated whether race was a factor in the sentencing, with one person writing: “R Kelly (a black man) was sentenced 30 years in prison.
“Ghislaine Maxwell (a white woman) was sentenced 20 years.”
However, former assistant United States attorney Neama Rahmani explained that the disparity between the sentences was due to a host of other factors.
“Many people believe that R Kelly received a longer sentence because he is a black man and Maxwell is white woman,” he said.
“That’s an oversimplification that misses key differences between the cases.”
One of the main differences, Mr Rahmani said, was that R Kelly’s judge Ann Donnelly is known to be tougher than Maxwell’s judge.
“Ann Donnelly was a prosecutor for years before she was appointed to the bench,” he wrote on Twitter.
“She’s known as a tougher sentencer than Maxwell’s judge, Alison Nathan, who is a former law professor.”
Mr Rahmani added: “During sentencing, R Kelly accepted zero remorse toward the eleven victims or any acceptance of responsibility for his crimes.
“Although Maxwell’s apology was less than sincere and she tried to shift the blame to Epstein, Maxwell at least apologised for her role.
“R Kelly’s pattern of racketeering activity was also worse. He and his co-conspirators were part of a criminal enterprise that threatened and bribed witnesses to prevent them from cooperating with law enforcement and prosecutors,” he said in a penultimate tweet, before concluding: “So even though their sex trafficking conduct is comparable, these additional factors put R Kelly in a worse position than Maxwell at sentencing.”