Court Grants R. Kelly Victim Priority Access to Sony Royalties

A victim of R. Kelly's sexual abuse has been granted priority access to the singer's Sony Music royalty account, valued at $1.5 million in 2020, to pay off a $4 million judgment against him. The Illinois Supreme Court ruled that Heather Williams should be given priority over Midwest Commercial Funding, a property manager that won a separate $3.5 million ruling against Kelly over unpaid rent at a Chicago studio. Kelly's attorney is seeking to overturn the underlying $4 million judgment, but it's unclear whether Williams will enjoy similar priority over additional monetary penalties that Kelly owes to victims as a result of his federal criminal convictions.