Rapper KR has been sentenced to 50 years in jail for raping multiple women, some of whom were teenage girls.
Rapper KR has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for raping multiple women, including teenage girls, a new report says.
According to the Los Angeles Times, a jury convicted the rapper of assaulting four women and three teenage girls after a six-month-long trial. The rapper, born Kaalan Walker, was tried on multiple counts of sexual assault. In the end, KR was found guilty of two counts of statutory rape, two counts of rape by intoxication, and three counts of forcible rape.
The sentencing brings an end to a lengthy legal battle for KR’s survivors, who had been trying to bring him to justice since 2018. While his first arrest in September 2018 led to a release, he was subsequently arrested again that same month and charged with nine counts of sexual assault.
All women who came forward with the allegations were aspiring models, claiming that KR had lured them in with the promise of work before sexually assaulting them. In some cases, the women alleged he had leveraged “connections” with celebrities like Drake and promised photoshoots, some times approaching them with his own social media accounts.
A 2018 statement released by the LA Police Department read: “In each of the cases, aspiring models were contacted by Walker via social media with the premise of being hired to work professionally. While alone, each of the victims reported that Walker sexually assaulted them.”
“This was very sophisticated,” Deputy District Attorney Cynthia Wallace told Rolling Stone in April. “He picked these girls and he appealed to their dreams and hopes and name-dropped Drake and used his connection to Halle Berry to get these girls somewhere and gain their trust. Once they were there, it wasn’t about doing photo shoots, it was about assaulting them.”
Love Hip Hop?
Get the latest Hip Hop news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more
The rapper’s team has since maintained his innocence, claiming he had not received a fair trial. Immediately after being convicted in April, the rapper was led of court in handcuffs as he claimed: “I didn’t rape anybody, your honor. I did not rape anybody.”
In a statement released immediately after his conviction in April, KR’s legal team said: “He did not receive a fair trial as the jury did not hear many material issues and facts due to being excluded improperly by the Court. There were 25 charges originally and 17 including dismissals and not guilties are gone. [Three] of the main women were found not guilty. This case will be overturned on appeal.”
For more on this topic, follow the Hip Hop Observer.
