R Kelly’s former manager sentenced to prison over shooting threat hoax to stop screening about disgraced star
Donnell Russell, 47, was sentenced to a year in federal prison on Monday
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The former manager of convicted rapist R Kelly has been sentenced to prison over a shooting threat hoax to stop the screening of a documentary about the disgraced star.
Donnell Russell, 47, was sentenced to a year in federal prison on Monday for calling in a Manhattan theatre with a shooting threat in December 2018, the Associated Press reported.
The stunt stopped the screening of Lifetime’s Surviving R Kelly, a documentary that delved into the sexual assault allegations brought against Kelly.
Russell, who was also convicted of other crimes for his role in helping Kelly cover up the accusations, said that while he had “made bad judgments,” he is “not a horrible person.”
US District Judge Paul Gardephe said Russell had taken part in “a misguided attempt to protect someone who was a prolific abuser.”
The former manager is expected to serve the year-sentence concurrently with his previous federal convictions. He is due to turn himself in next year.
On 4 December 2018, Russell called the theatre claiming that someone at the event had a gun and was going to shoot the place. The venue, where some accusers were set to speak at a panel discussion, was evacuated.
Authorities were able to retrieve phone records and texts that linked Russell to the crime. Before the theatre incident, Russell had threatened to sue over the documentary.
“I was happy that it ended. I didn’t question how it ended,” Russell said at the sentencing.
Earlier this year, Russell was tried for an interstate stalking charge of one of Kelly’s victims.
A jury reviewed evidence that indicated Russell sent threats over texts and published explicit images of the accusers online. He was eventually convicted and sentenced to 20 months in prison.
Russell and Kelly met in their native Chicago. They reconnected when Russell began helping Kelly with intellectual property matters.
On 14 September, a federal jury in Chicago found Kelly guilty of crimes including producing videos of child sexual abuse and child enticement.
Kelly is already serving a 30-year sentence in New York on federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges.