Renowned singer R Kelly has been given a 20-year prison sentence by a federal judge for his convictions on charges of child s**ual abuse images and enticement of minors for s**.
However, the judge ruled that he would serve almost all of this sentence concurrently with a 30-year sentence imposed last year for racketeering charges.
Judge Harry Leinenweber also ordered that Kelly serve an additional year in prison following his New York sentence.
The main question surrounding Kelly’s sentencing in his hometown of Chicago was whether the judge would order him to serve the sentence concurrently with or only after he completes his New York term for racketeering and s** trafficking convictions in 2021.
The latter scenario would have essentially been a life sentence.
Prosecutors acknowledged that if the lengthy term was served only after the New York sentence, it could have meant Kelly would never be released from prison alive.
They argued that his crimes against children and lack of remorse justified this outcome.
With the sentence handed down on Thursday, Kelly will serve a maximum of 31 years and will be eligible for release at around the age of 80.
At the beginning of the hearing, Judge Leinenweber stated that he did not agree with the government’s claim that Kelly used fear to coerce underage girls into having s**.
“The whole theory of grooming was actually the opposite of fear of bodily harm,” the judge told the court.
“It was the fear of losing love and affections [from Kelly]…
It doesn’t seem to me that it rises to the fear of bodily harm.”
Kelly remained calm and spoke briefly at the start of the hearing when asked by the judge if he had reviewed key presentencing documents for any inaccuracies.
He replied, “Your honor, I have gone over it with my attorney.
I’m just relying on my attorney for that.”
During the hearing, two of Kelly’s accusers requested that the judge impose a harsh punishment on him.
In a statement read in court, one woman who testified under the pseudonym “Jane” expressed how she had lost her dreams and hopes for fulfilling relationships due to Kelly’s actions.
“I have lost my dreams to Robert Kelly,” her statement said.
“I will never get back what I lost to Robert Kelly…
I have been permanently scarred by Robert.”
Jane was a key witness for the prosecution during Kelly’s trial, and four of his convictions are related to her.
Another accuser, who went by the pseudonym “Nia”, attended the hearing and directly addressed Kelly.
Her voice trembling, she stated that Kelly would repeatedly criticize her while he abused her.
“Now you are here… because there is something wrong with you,” she said.
“No longer will you be able to harm children.”
In Chicago, jurors convicted Kelly last year on six out of 13 counts, including three counts of producing child s**ual abuse imagery and three counts of child enticement.
Kelly, who rose from poverty in Chicago to become a global R&B star known for hits like “I Believe I Can Fly” and s**ually suggestive songs such as “Bump n’ Grind,” sold millions of albums despite allegations of abuse against him surfacing in the 1990s.
Prosecutors described Kelly as a “serial s**ual predator” in their pre-hearing filings, stating that he used his fame and wealth to lure in fans, s**ually abuse them, and then discard them.
Assistant US Attorney Jeannice Appenteng urged the judge to impose a longer sentence, keeping Kelly imprisoned “for the rest of his life.”
Appenteng argued that Kelly’s abuse of children was particularly heinous because he filmed his victims, including Jane, thus memorializing their suffering.
She told the court that Kelly “used Jane as a s** prop, a thing” for his videos.
Kelly’s attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, accused the prosecutors of presenting an exaggerated narrative in an attempt to make Kelly a symbol of the #MeToo movement.
She argued that Kelly had already suffered enough, including financial losses.
Bonjean pointed out that while Kelly’s net worth once approached $1 billion, he is now destitute.
In court, Bonjean claimed that Kelly would be fortunate to survive his 30-year sentence in New York.
She argued that imposing an additional consecutive 25-year sentence on top of that would be excessive and merely symbolic, solely because it is R Kelly.
Bonjean also stated that Kelly’s decision to remain silent should not be mistaken for a lack of remorse.
She explained that she advised him not to speak due to ongoing appeals and potential legal action but emphasized that he would like to express remorse if given the opportunity.
