R. Kelly Was Charged Too Much for Victim's Herpes Medication Judge Rules
R. Kelly was dealt one legal victory during his appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York.
According to TMZ, Judge Richard J. Sullivan agreed that Kelly was charged too much for the name brand, Valtrex, of herpes medicine from one of his victims when the generic brand could have been used instead.
Previously, Kelly was hit with more than $270,000 to pay for a lifetime supply of the name brand medicine, which the outlet reports costs $421.29 for a month's supply. However, the generic brand costs $15.31 for the same supply, equating to $9,829.09 for her lifetime.
The ruling came after the judge found that the victim could potentially buy the cheaper generic brand medication and pocket the remaining money that would have been paid for the name brand.
Read more: R. Kelly's Ex-Wife Andrea Defends Keeping His Last Name She Earned Through 'Blood, Sweat, and Tears'
Kelly appeared in court as part of an appeal to his racketeering and sex trafficking convictions, as well as his 30-year prison sentence that had previously been handed down to him, the Associated Press reports. But the court ruled to uphold the convictions and prison term. The court concluded that Kelly had used his fame to sexually abuse girls and young women for many years.
This is not the first time that Kelly has suffered a legal loss as the Associated Press reports that the singer's appeal of his 20-year sentence related to child sex charges in 2022 had been declined to be heard by a court.
"Enabled by a constellation of managers, assistants, and other staff for over twenty-five years, Kelly exploited his fame to lure girls and young women into his grasp. Evidence at trial showed that he would isolate them from friends and family, control nearly every aspect of their lives, and abuse them verbally, physically, and sexually," the appeals court said.
They went on to argue that it was not "irrational" that some of Kelly's accusers were allowed to testify that the singer had given them herpes without telling them he had the STI first.
Read more: R. Kelly's Daughter Buku Abi Says He Sexually Abused Her as Child: 'He Was My Everything'
The judges also said that it was not unfairly prejudicial for the trial judge to allow the viewing of graphic videos. In their statement, they shared that the videos were used to "show the means and methods of the enterprise, including the level of control and dominance Kelly had over his victims."
Kelly's lawyer Jennifer Bonjean has since spoken out on the ruling in a statement to TMZ.
"While we are disappointed that the Second Circuit affirmed Mr. Kelly's convictions, we believe the United States Supreme Court will be interested in reviewing this unprecedented opinion that gives the government limitless discretion to apply the RICO statute to situations absurdly remote from statute's intent. The statute was intended to punish organized crime – not individual conduct. This decision paves the way for prosecution to charge any individual's misconduct as a RICO violation," Bonjean said.
--Originally appeared on Music Times.
