Federal prosecutors in New York recommended that R&B singer R. Kelly be sentenced to more than 25 years in prison. Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, was convicted in September of racketeering, including acts of bribery and sexual exploitation of a child, and of separate charges of sex trafficking. Prosecutors recommended the sentence in a memo filed Wednesday, which also recommended that Kelly be fined between $50,000 to $250,000, ahead of the disgraced musician’s scheduled Wednesday, June 29 sentencing.
In their filing, prosecutors wrote, “in light of the seriousness of the offenses, the need for specific deterrence and the need to protect the public from further crimes of the defendant … the government respectfully submits that a sentence in excess of 25 years is warranted,” according to the New York Post. The 31-page memo cited Kelly’s “decades of crime” and a “callous disregard for the very real effects that his crimes had on his victims” for the recommended sentence. Prosecutors argued, per CNN, that Kelly believed his “musical talent absolved him of any need to conform his conduct — no matter how predatory, harmful, humiliating or abusive to others — to the strictures of the law.” The memo also noted that Kelly “continued his crimes and avoided punishment for them for almost 30 years and must now be held to account.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
Prosecutors said the lengthy prison sentence could potentially deter others from committing similar crimes. The memo read, “While the government doubts that the defendant will be deterred, a lengthy sentence of imprisonment will serve to deter others — including those with wealth, fame and the outsized power such status brings — from engaging in similar crimes. This is particularly so given the high-profile nature of the defendant and the likelihood that the length of his sentence will be widely publicized.”
The recommendation comes months after Kelly in September was found guilty of racketeering charges in federal court following a 23-day trial during which more than 50 witnesses testified against the artist. Following his conviction, Kelly’s lawyers have argued that the singer deserves only a maximum of about 17 years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines, according to CBS News. Kelly is scheduled to be sentenced on June 29. The musician faces a federal child pornography case in Chicago, Illinois, which is set to begin this summer, as well as a state trial in Minnesota.
