R. Kelly–U.S. Prosecutors Ask Judge To Give Singer 25 More Years In Prison 

R. Kelly

R. Kelly–U.S. Prosecutors Ask Judge To Give Singer 25 More Years In Prison

It looks like R. Kelly could be serving additional time behind bars.

On Thursday ( Feb.16), Federal prosecutors asked a judge to give R. Kelly 25 more years in prison for his child pornography and enticement convictions last year in Chicago.

If granted, the 56-year-old wouldn’t be eligible for release until he was around 100-years-old.

In their sentencing recommendation filed in US District Court in Chicago, prosecutors described the singers behavior as ‘sadistic’, calling him ‘a serial sexual predator’ with no remorse and who ‘poses a serious danger to society.’ 

The 37-page government filing says,

“The only way to ensure Kelly does not reoffend is to impose a sentence that will keep him in prison for the rest of his life.”

R.Kelly

R. Kelly’s lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, wrote in a filing last week that even with his existing 30-year New York sentence,

“Kelly would have to defy all statistical odds to make it out of prison alive.”

She cited data that the average life expectancy of inmates is 64.

She recommended a sentence of about 10 years, at the low end of the sentencing guidelines range, and suggested it be served simultaneously with the New York sentence.

In arguing for the lesser sentence, Bonjean alleged Kelly, who is black, was singled out for behavior that white rock stars have gotten away with for decades. She wrote,

“None have been prosecuted and none will die in prison.”

In the Chicago case, prosecutors acknowledged that a 25-year sentence would be more time than even sentencing guidelines recommend, but they argued that imposing a long sentence and instructing it be served only after the New York sentence was appropriate.

The filing argued,

“A consecutive sentence is eminently reasonable given the egregiousness of Kelly’s conduct. Kelly’s sexual abuse of minors was intentional and prolific.”

At the Chicago trial last year, jurors convicted the Grammy Award winning singer on six of 13 counts. During the trial, four women testified that R. Kelly had sexually abused them while they were underage, including the woman who identified herself as the victim of sexual abuse in a videotape at the center of the singer’s 2008 trial.

Prosecutors at Kelly’s federal trial in Chicago portrayed him as a master manipulator who used his fame and wealth to reel in star-struck fans to sexually abuse, in some cases to video record them, and then discard them.

After deliberating over two days, jurors convicted Kelly of three counts each of producing child pornography and enticement of minors for sex. The Chicago verdict came months after a federal judge in New York sentenced Kelly to 30 years in prison for racketeering and sex trafficking. Based on that sentence alone, he wouldn’t eligible for release until he is around 80.

R. Kelly’s legal team is appealing his New York and Chicago convictions.

Kelly’s sentencing in Chicago is set for Thursday February 23.

What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below. 

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