Justice continues to be served in the ongoing battles between disgraced singer R. Kelly and the many women he victimized throughout his career.
In the latest news, Heather Williams, a woman named as one of his sexual abuse victims, has been awarded access to his Sony Music royalties –estimated to be worth $1.5 million. Williams, who won a $4 million judgment from Kelly, is one of the first victims to “properly demand” her payout from Sony, according to Billboard.
She also had the state of Illinois on her side; as the Supreme Court ruled that her claims should take priority over a Chicago landlord who was also owed millions from the 56-year-old singer. Midwest Commercial Funding has been awarded $3.5 million from Kelly as property manager of a studio that the singer failed to pay rent for.
Williams filed a civil lawsuit against Kelly in 2019, alleging that when she was 16 years old, the singer lured her into his studio under the guise of having her be in a music video. He then repeatedly had sex with Williams, a minor. Kelly’s attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, is planning to fight back against the ruling in Williams’ favor, citing that it was a ruling by default brought on by the singer’s failure to respond.
“I’ve never in my career seen such a flouting of the rules to deny him even the opportunity to defend these civil cases, even when the courts were fully aware that Kelly was incarcerated, unrepresented at points, and facing multiple criminal indictments,” Bonjean says. “Indeed, much of these civil proceedings occurred without Kelly’s knowledge.”
Currently, R. Kelly is serving a 30-year sentence for sex trafficking and racketeering in New York City while also being ordered to pay $480,000 in fines and restitution. In February, he was sentenced on child pornography charges in Illinois and fined an additional $42,000.
The court has ruled that Heather Williams will continue receiving his royalties until her entire judgment is paid off.