R. Kelly’s Ex Manager Sentenced To 20 Months In Prison For Stalking Victim

R. Kelly’s Former Manager Jailed For Stalking One Of The Singer’s Victims

Donnell Russell, R. Kelly’s former manager, has been sentenced to 20 months in prison for stalking and harassing one of Kelly’s abuse victims.

Russell pleaded guilty in July to using threats and intimidation to try and prevent the victim from testifying against the disgraced star. He also published explicit pictures of her online anonymously as a way to put her off testifying.

“For more than a year, the defendant engaged in a vicious campaign to harass, humiliate and threaten the victim in order to force her to dismiss her lawsuit against R. Kelly and stop speaking publicly about him,” Eastern District of New York Breon Peace said in a statement.

JUST IN: Lawyers for #RKelly argue in a motion for acquittal tonight that there was insufficient evidence the infamous videotape purportedly showing Kelly sexually abusing his underage goddaughter ever left the state of Illinois- a key element for some of the federal counts pic.twitter.com/CjIrcGeuUD

— Jason Meisner (@jmetr22b) November 16, 2022

“The punishment meted out to the defendant today is a victory for crime victims, particularly those of sexual assault and abuse, who are often reluctant to come forward to law enforcement or pursue legal recourse, given the trauma and fear of retaliation associated with publicly discussing their experiences.”

Prosecutors said Russell, a self-described manager, advisor and friend to Kelly, used “reprehensible” tactics against the unnamed victim and her mother, after she filed a civil case against the singer in 2018.

He continued to harass them when it became clear that she was cited in New York State’s criminal case against Kelly, and was likely to testify. Between November 2018 and February 2020, Russell threatened to reveal sexually explicit photographs of the woman; sending texts that read: “Pull the plug or you will be exposed”.

In 2019, he created a Facebook page under the alias Colon Dunn, and posted screenshots of text messages between Kelly and the victim, including the same sexually explicit photographs. He later appeared on two separate YouTube broadcasts defending Kelly, where he again displayed the photographs.