Disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly is currently serving 30 years behind bars on sex crime convictions. Now, federal prosecutors have now asked a judge to add 25 more years to his prison sentence, the AP reports, which would bring his total sentence to 55 years. The new sentencing recommended stems from Kelly’s 2022 child pornography conviction in Chicago.
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. Kelly’s sentencing hearing is set for late February.
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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 sexual 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.
The disgraced R&B singer declined to make a comment prior to his sentencing, but before handing the sentence down, Judge Ann M. Donnelly made a statement. She referred to Kelly’s behavior as violent and “carefully planned,” and warned that the public needs to be protected from him. She also chastised Kelly’s “indifference to human suffering,” and mourned that the crimes he’s been convicted of left behind “broken lives.” Deadline noted that, at 55 years old, three decades behind bars “virtually amounts to a life sentence.”
