Aaliyah’s uncle says karma finally caught up to R. Kelly
Karma is finally catching up to R. Kelly, the uncle of late singer Aaliyah told The Post — one day after the pervy crooner was convicted of sexually abusing women and children for decades.
“I think you got to pay the price for what you’ve done. He’s had too many second chances,” said producer Barry Hankerson, 74, who introduced his niece to the R&B star when she was 12 before the pair illegally wed. “He’s going to get whatever he’s got coming.”
Aaliyah may have been as young as 13 when Kelly, then in his mid-20s, began sexually abusing her after the two started collaborating on her debut album, “Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number,” according to trial testimony.
Hankerson has insisted he didn’t know the “Bump n’ Grind” singer was preying on his protege.
The multiplatinum Grammy-winning recording artist, whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, was 27 when he married 15-year-old Aaliyah using a fake ID because he thought she was pregnant.
He allegedly hatched the marital scheme to dodge criminal charges for sex with a minor and block her from testifying about the abuse, his manager told jurors during the Brooklyn federal court trial.
Hankerson claimed that his niece “didn’t look up to R. Kelly or the people in his orbit, she didn’t want to be around them.”
After Aaliyah tragically died in a plane crash in 2001, Hankerson said he ignored the “Ignition” singer’s calls and the two haven’t spoken in 20 years.
Kelly, 54, was convicted of all nine counts against him, including racketeering and violations of the Mann Act, which prohibits the transport of people across state lines for an immoral purpose. He faces 10 years to life in prison at his sentencing, which is scheduled for May 4, 2022.
Prosecutors painted Kelly as a predator who used his fame and a network of employees and friends to sexually exploit and physically abuse women, girls and boys.
When Hankerson was asked how he thought Aaliyah would have reacted to the verdict, he said, “I don’t speak for her, she isn’t here to speak.”
Kelly’s attorney Devereaux Cannick didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
