R Kelly victims hope he is never released from prison as women regained voices in court

No one knows how many people R Kelly has abused. How many young girls and boys were destroyed by his depravity. Hundreds for sure.

Some of them used his sentencing hearing on Wednesday to speak directly to the man who highjacked their lives with consequences they live with to this day.

All spoke of being lured in by him. One said he preyed on those who no-one would miss, offering success, family and love as “glittery gems". The reality was very different.

Rapes, beatings, depravity, humiliation and control became their everyday. Amid tears and obvious fear they spoke of how initially he made them feel special, one told of her joy “because someone special to the world thought I was special".

They went on to describe the shame that forced them into silence, of incurable, ongoing sexually transmitted diseases, of suicidal thoughts and sadness that haunts their adult lives.

One described being forced to perform a sex act on him in a car full of his entourage.

“I was 19, you were a 31-year-old paedophile looking for another life to destroy. You broke my spirit, stripped me of my dignity and self respect. Do you even remember?”

She went on to say she hoped he would never be released, “if you were you’d carry on".

For each of the women who spoke this day marks the moment they regained their voice, voices R Kelly silenced many years ago.