R. Kelly, center, leaves the Daley Center after a hearing on his child support case in May 2019 in Chicago.
Matt Marton/AP
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Matt Marton/AP
R. Kelly, center, leaves the Daley Center after a hearing on his child support case in May 2019 in Chicago.
Matt Marton/AP
CHICAGO — Federal prosecutors on Thursday asked a judge to give singer R. Kelly an additional 25 years in prison for child pornography and last year’s solicitation in Chicago, adding 30 years. that he had just begun serving his sentence in a New York case.
The 56-year-old will not be eligible for release until he is about 100 if the judge agrees to both the 25-year sentence and another government request that Kelly only begin serving. sentencing in Chicago after a 30-year sentence in New York. full service.
In their motion for sentencing filed late Thursday in U.S. District Court in Chicago, prosecutors described Kelly’s behavior as “brutal,” calling him a “sexual predator.” masseuse” has no regrets and is a “serious danger to society.”
“The only way to ensure Kelly doesn’t re-offend is to impose a sentence that puts him in jail for the rest of his life,” the 37-page government filing reads.
Kelly’s sentence in Chicago is set for next Thursday.
Kelly’s attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, wrote in a filing last week that even with the current 30-year New York sentence, “Kelly would have to defy all odds to get out of prison alive. ” She cites data that the average life expectancy of prisoners is 64.
She proposed a sentence of about 10 years, the lowest in the range of sentencing guidelines, which she said could be served concurrently with the New York sentence.
In arguing for a lighter sentence, Bonjean accused Kelly, who is black, of having been criticized for conduct she said white rock stars had ignored for decades.
“No one will be prosecuted and no one will die in prison,” she wrote.
Prosecutors acknowledged that the 25-year sentence in the Chicago case would be longer than recommended by sentencing guidelines. But they argued that it was appropriate to apply a lengthy sentence and instruct it to be served only after the New York sentence.
“A consecutive sentence is clearly justified given Kelly’s egregious conduct,” the filing argued. “Kelly’s sexual abuse of a minor was intentional and excessive.”
At his trial in Chicago last year, jurors convicted the Grammy-winning singer on six of 13 counts. But the government lost control that Kelly and his then-business manager successfully rigged his state child pornography trial in 2008.
Both of Kelly’s accomplices, including longtime business executive Derrel McDavid, were acquitted.
Kelly, born Robert Sylvester Kelly, rose from poverty in Chicago to superstardom, known for her hit “I Believe I Can Fly” and sexually charged songs like “Bump n’.” Grind.”
Although the Grammy Award winner was put on trial in 2008, it wasn’t until after the broadcast of the Lifetime’s 2019 documentary series, “Surviving R. Kelly” — featuring testimonies from his accusers — crime investigations will be stepped up. ending with new federal and state fees.
In January, an Illinois judge dismissed the state’s sexual abuse allegations before a trial at the recommendation of Cook County State Attorney Kim Foxx. Foxx said she felt comfortable dropping the case because Kelly would spend decades in prison because of his federal convictions.
Prosecutors at the federal trial of Kelly in Chicago have portrayed him as a master manipulator who used his fame and wealth to entice abusive star fans sex, in some cases videotaping them and then discarding them.
After deliberating for more than two days, jurors convicted Kelly of three counts of producing child pornography and luring a minor to have sex, and acquitted him of obstruction. justice, one count of producing child pornography and three counts of receiving child pornography.
The Chicago ruling comes months after a federal judge in New York sentenced Kelly to 30 years in prison for fraud and sex trafficking. Based on that sentence alone, he won’t be eligible for release until he’s around 80 years old.
Even on leave for good conduct, Kelly will only be eligible for release if he serves 25 years after his New York sentence in 2066, government filings said Thursday.
Judge Harry Leinenweber of Chicago will decide the key question of whether Kelly serves any of the sentences he applies concurrently, concurrently with the New York sentence, or consecutively.
Kelly’s legal team is appealing his New York and Chicago convictions. Prosecutors sometimes impose lengthy sentences on defendants convicted in earlier trials to ensure that, if some of the sentences are later dropped, they will still spend some time in jail. time.
Bonjean argued that the traumas of Kelly’s life, including childhood abuse and adult illiteracy, justified leniency in the singer’s sentencing.
Kelly “was not an evil monster but a complex (certainly troublesome) human being who faced overwhelming challenges in his childhood that shaped his adult life.” there,” she said.
She said that the behavior for which he was convicted that occurred decades ago should also be taken into account.
She argued: “Although Kelly was not a child in the late 1990s, he is not the middle-aged man he was at the time of the 2019 indictment. “Kelly was a bad man. broke down in their late 20s.”
She added that Kelly had paid a heavy price from her legal troubles, including financial ones. She said his worth was once $1 billion but he is “very poor now.”
