A Federal Court in Brooklyn sentenced R. Kelly's associate Michael Williams, 38, to eight years in prison last Wednesday (November 17) for setting fire to a car of an accuser.
Williams reportedly committed the crime in Florida in June 2020, attempting to intimidate the potential witness in R. Kelly's sex trafficking trial, which was pending at the time. Kelly was convicted in September this year.
Williams, who was one of three men arrested in August 2020 for allegedly threatening, bribing and intimidating the singer's victims, pleaded guilty in April this year to arson for setting the car on fire outside the woman's home before she was set to testify in Kelly's racketeering trial.
According to the prosecution, Williams was related to a former publicist for Kelly. Williams' attorney, Todd Spodek, said a sentence of five years would have been "sufficient but not greater than necessary in this case." He said they were exploring their legal options.
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