R. Kelly Gets 20-Year Prison Sentence in Child Porn Case

R. Kelly has been given a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted on child porn charges last year in Chicago. According to CNN, US District Judge Harry D. Leinenweber handed down the disgraced singer’s sentence on Thursday, Feb. 23. However, there is a bit of a legal catch. Kelly will not be serving 20 years on top of the previous 30-year sentence he received for a sex crimes conviction. 

Rather, Judge Leinenweber order that 19 years of the new sentence would be served concurrently. This means it will be served at the same time as his previously handed-down sentence. Only one year of the new 20-year sentence is to be served consecutively. Kelly will serve that one year after his prior sentence is complete. Notably, federal prosecutors had asked the judge to add 25 more years to his prison sentence, the AP reports, which would bring his total sentence to 55 years.

In the legal filing, prosecutors described Kelly’s behavior as “sadistic” and referred to him as “a serial sexual predator.” They stated that they believe he “poses a serious danger to society,” and that he shows no remorse for the crimes of which he has been convicted. “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,” prosecutors wrote.

According to the Chicago Tribune, on Wednesday, Sept. 13, a federal jury convicted Kelly, 55, on charges of making videotapes of himself sexually abusing his then-14-year-old goddaughter many years ago. However, he was acquitted on charges that he conspired to obstruct justice in a 2002 case related to the charges.

The outlet reports that the jury deliberated for about 11 hours, eventually returning a guilty verdict on three of the first four counts of the indictment, which charged Kelly with sexually exploiting the girl, identified as ‘Jane,’ with the intention of “producing child pornography.” Each of these charges carries a 10-year minimum prison sentence, which will add decades to the current 30-year sentence he is already serving, stemming from a separation sex crimes conviction.

In June, Kelly was sentenced to prison for sex trafficking and racketeering. The sentence was handed down following the federal prosecutor’s request for a minimum of 25 years. The singer had been facing the possibility of life behind bars.