Singer R. Kelly could be ordered to pay more than US$300,000 to one of the victims of an elaborate scheme to sexually exploit young aspiring singers and minor children.

A restitution order by U.S. District Court Judge Anne Connelly, still pending, is intended to cover the costs of herpes treatment and psychotherapy for individuals.

The victim, who remained anonymous, accused the singer of giving her a sexually transmitted disease during the encounter.

Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison in June after being convicted by a jury in 2021 of multiple counts related to bribery and forced labor.

Earlier this month, he was also found guilty of child pornography and sexual abuse charges in his hometown of Chicago.

The Grammy Award winner was found guilty of three counts of child pornography and three counts of seduction of a child.

However, a jury acquitted him of conspiracy to obstruct justice, which charged him with amending a state child pornography trial in 2008, and a fourth pornography case.

He appeared for a hearing in federal court in Brooklyn via video link from a Chicago prison.

During his sentencing, R. Kelly was dubbed “R&B’s Pied Piper” because he faced several victims who described decades of “deplorable and inexplicable” abuse. branded.

The singer, whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, is known for songs such as his first number one single, “Bump and Grind,” and his 1996 hit, “I Believe I Can Fly.” .

The latter has become a moving anthem played at school graduations, weddings and advertisements, including the 2008 inauguration of former US President Barack Obama.