Donnell Russell, who described himself as disgraced singer R. Kelly’s manager has pled guilty to stalking and harassing one of the singer’s sexual abuse victims, according to Rolling Stone. The 47-year-old was accused of harassing and intimidating a Jane Doe victim and her mother using emails, phone calls, and text messages to keep her from pursuing justice against Kelly. Russell was previously accused of making gun threats in an attempt to stop a screening of Surviving R. Kelly in New York City. Last week, he was convicted on those charges.
In a statement, United States Attorney Breon Peace said, “Russell used threats, harassment and intimidation in a deliberate effort to silence one of R. Kelly’s victims and prevent her voice from being heard. When his initial effort failed, he continued his vile campaign by sending threatening messages to Jane Doe and her mother, and publishing explicit photos of the victim on the internet before and after Kelly was indicted. As this prosecution makes clear, the defendant’s conduct was not only reprehensible, but it was also criminal and will not be tolerated.”
Among the tactics that Russell used were threats to post explicit photos of Jane Doe online if she didn’t withdraw her civil suit against him. He apparently followed through after over a year of threats, posting the photos to Facebook in 2020. He might have found a better use for his time; Kelly was found guilty of sex trafficking and racketeering last year and was sentenced last month to 30 years in prison.