Disgraced singer and producer R. Kelly was hit with a 20-year jail term on Thursday, due to charges of child pornography and enticement of minors for sex.
These convictions come on top of the 30-year sentence the Grammy winner had already received last year in New York on racketeering and sex trafficking charges. In addition, U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber ordered that Kelly serve an additional year in prison after his prior conviction, resulting in a maximum of 31 years behind bars. The musician’s lawyer stated that they would appeal the conviction.
Going into the sentencing in Kelly’s hometown of Chicago, the primary question was whether or not the judge would allow Kelly to serve his sentence simultaneously or if he would be required to complete his New York term first. The singer was convicted of six of thirteen counts last year, which included three counts of producing child porn and three counts of enticement of minors for sex.
While prosecutors acknowledged that the latter would most likely lead to Kelly never getting out of prison alive, they still argued that due to the lack of remorse Kelly had shown, a non-concurrent sentence was justifiable.
Judge Leinenweber ultimately sided with the prosecution, so Kelly will likely be eligible for parole at age 80. During the hearing, the judge denied the government’s contention that Kelly used fear to draw in young girls for sexual acts, arguing that it was instead the “fear of lost love, lost affections (from Kelly)’” and “not the fear of bodily harm.” When asked if he had reviewed key presentencing documents for any inaccuracies, Kelly stated he had gone over them with his attorney and was relying on him for that.
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