Serial rapist, 19, dubbed the ‘Brixton R Kelly’ who groomed and attacked young girls he met on Snapchat is jailed for 12 years

• Kevarnie Queen, 19, jailed after brutally raping six girls as young as 15 years old

A serial rapist dubbed the ‘Brixton R Kelly’ has been jailed for 12 years after committing a three-year campaign of sexual violence against six young women.

Kevarnie Queen, 19, manipulated and brutally raped six girls – as young as 15 – over a period of three years after messaging the majority of them on Snapchat. 

He was convicted in August, following a trial at Inner London Crown Court, of 22 counts of rape committed between 2019 and 2022.

Queen – who the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said was known on social media as the ‘Brixton R Kelly’ – was 15 years old during much of his offending and all the complainants, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, were under the age of 18.

Some of his victims, whose harrowing victim impact statements were read aloud in court, were religious and had only planned to have sex only after getting married.

One victim told of how she ‘lost her innocence, her voice and her integrity’ as a result of Queen’s actions, the court heard. One victim even described predatory Queen as a ‘demon’.

Kevarnie Queen, 19, who has been jailed at Inner London Crown Court (Metropolitan Police/PA)

Queen was convicted in August, following a trial at Inner London Crown Court (pictured), of 22 counts of rape committed between 2019 and 2022

Several of them had attempted suicide after being abused by Queen and three had also contracted sexually transmitted infections.

Heartbreaking impact statements from his victims, some of whom wept in court as their statements were read by prosecutor Laurie-Anne Power KC, demonstrated the severe impact of Queen’s actions.

His first victim, who was raped by Queen when they were both just 15, told the court she had isolated herself after her abuse and still struggled to leave her home years later.

Another victim, who wrote her statement to directly address Queen, told the court she had attempted suicide on three separate occasions and had turned to drugs to ‘numb the pain’.

‘The pain you have caused in my life will never be forgotten,’ she told her abuser, who appeared unmoved in the dock by the passionate address. ‘I suffer from PTSD. Every time I see a girl child I pray they will avoid meeting a demon like you. To hear you have other victims after me proves that you are heartless.

‘When I look at myself in the mirror I see a damaged soul. My insecurities were used against me with [Queen’s] constant body shaming. I trusted him and he betrayed me.’

Another of the victims, who was in an abusive relationship with Queen for around two years, told the court he had seemed ‘disinterested’ as she gave evidence during his trial.

‘The only way I can describe him for what he did to me is evil,’ she said. ‘We were in a relationship for two years. I am confident in saying he is not sorry for what he has done. He is only sorry he got caught. He didn’t treat me like a human. [Queen] was and always will be a danger to all girls and women.’

One of the victim’s mothers told the court Queen’s actions had caused ‘years and years of suffering’ in just a matter of hours which had left her child ‘a shell’ of the girl she was.

The woman’s daughter told the court she had even received death threats on Snapchat after it emerged that she’d reported Queen to police for raping her. The victims were unanimous in saying that Queen’s actions had left them almost completely unable to trust men, whilst some said they had turned to drugs and alcohol to numb their pain.

Another victim added: ‘I don’t believe in love anymore. I am tired of being used, mentally and physically. My experience with you only led to trauma.’

During his trial, Queen had said he had cheated on all his victims and that, as a result, they had conspired together to teach him a lesson. But a jury convicted him of the 22 rape offences.

Judge Karu explained how Queen would manipulate the girls into believing they were in a relationship with him in which non-consensual sex was normal. 

‘You raped five 15-year-old girls, and all but one of them were raped more than once,’ he said. ‘It mattered not to you whether any of them consented or not. You manipulated each of them to believing they were in a relationship with you so that they wouldn’t report you.’

Judge Usha Karu, Honorary Recorder of Southwark, handed Queen an extended sentence of 16 years on Monday. The longest he will remain in detention at a young offenders’ institution is 12 years, after which he will be on extended licence for four years. The teenager could be seen with tear tracks on his face as he left the dock.

Referring to the complainants, the judge said: ‘They have all been severely traumatised by the events. Given their youth this is likely to be long lasting.’

Expanding on the victim impact statements read out in court last week, the judge said complainants told of attempting suicide or having suicidal thoughts, being manipulated by Queen, being unable to trust men and no longer believing in love.

Referring to one of the women, the judge said: ‘(She) speaks of your manipulative behaviour and how she ‘lost’ herself.

‘She had confided in you about having been previously abused and you took advantage of her vulnerability.

‘She suffers from flashbacks, her present relationship has been affected, she finds it difficult to trust others and has relived past trauma that she had tried to bury.’

Judge Karu told Inner London Crown Court how Queen would manipulate the girls into believing they were in a relationship with him in which non-consensual sex was normal

Judge Karu found Queen legally dangerous and said: ‘You are a confident young man and appear to continue to hold the same firm views in respect of sex, and entitlement to it, which you did at the time of offending.’

She subjected him to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order until further order as well as indefinite notification requirements.

The defendant was likened on social media to American R&B singer R Kelly, who was sentenced in February to 20 years in prison for child pornography and enticement of minors for sex.

Queen met all but one of the complainants through Snapchat where he would ‘flatter and groom them’ before arranging to meet, according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

The court heard on Monday that Queen would flirt, call the women ‘beautiful’ and invite them to his home where he would initiate sexual activity ‘whether any of them consented or not’, often ignoring direct pleas for him to stop.

He also forced himself on some of the complainants in stairwells in blocks of flats.

On one occasion, a complainant told him that he had just raped her, to which Queen responded: ‘No, that’s not rape, don’t tell this to anyone, that’s not rape.’

Several of the women suffered from sexually transmitted infections.

The CPS described him as a ‘prolific sexual predator’ who had ‘no regard for his victims’.

The court heard Queen had the ‘chance of training for professional football’ and that ‘a likely promising future has been cut short’ because of his own offending.

An author of a pre-sentence report stated that Queen has ‘entrenched beliefs regarding females and entitlement to sex’ and described himself as being ‘a 100% player’.

The author of the report said: ‘He presented with limited awareness of consent and what it entails, whereby his sexual preoccupation and perceived wants and desires became predatory, and took precedence over the impact on the victims to achieve his expected outcome, which was sex and status.’

He was arrested in April 2020 and then again in June and August 2022 on suspicion of various counts of rape which he denied, claiming the women were all lying and were part of a hate campaign against him.

Following his conviction in August, Laura Devitt, senior crown prosecutor from the Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Unit in London South, commended the ‘immense bravery and mental fortitude’ of the victims to come forward.

‘Queen has clearly demonstrated he saw these young girls’ existence purely for his own satisfaction,’ she said.

‘Queen claimed he was a ‘player’ and knew how to make girls like him and that any activity was consensual.

‘His misogynistic and deplorable actions have now been exposed for what they are, and these convictions ensure no further women are caused further irreparable harm at his hands.’

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