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Disgraced rapper R. Kelly was sentenced Thursday to just one more year in prison on federal pedophilia charges.
Federal District Judge Harry Leinenweber sentenced Kelly, 56, to 20 years in prison for luring multiple underage girls into sex by taking advantage of his wealth and fame, and in some cases by videotaping the abuse.
Nineteen of those years will serve concurrently with his current 30-year sentence for his 2021 conviction on racketeering and sex trafficking charges in New York federal court, with just one consecutive year in Chicago federal prison.
The sentence is far less than what prosecutors and his victims had sought, arguing in court that the once-popular Grammy winner will spend the rest of his life behind bars by sentencing him to 25 years, which would only begin when the current stretch of 30 years is over. complete.
In court documents, prosecutors had asked Leinenweber to sentence the “I Believe I Can Fly” singer to an additional 25 years behind bars, arguing that he is so incorrigible that “the only way to ensure that Kelly does not reoffend is to impose a sentence that maintains him in prison for the rest of his life.’
But defense attorneys said he already faces a life sentence effective with the existing term of 30 years, noting that Kelly has diabetes. They argued that the government was seeking to convict him on charges of which he was acquitted.
Then, in court on Thursday, the judge found that Kelly’s actions did not warrant an enhanced sentence for sex trafficking, disagreeing with prosecutors that Kelly used fear to woo underage girls, including when they shared their pain with the judge.
He added that deterrence is not a factor because Kelly has already lost all her wealth and status due to her convictions.
R. Kelly, pictured in court in September 2019 in Chicago. he was sentenced to 30 years in prison on sexual assault charges in that case
Kelly’s lawyers have argued that given the singer’s age and health, his current sentence already amounts to life in prison.
Kelly was found guilty of sexually abusing his 14-year-old goddaughter ‘Jane’ and other girls in a video in September.
He was convicted on three of four counts, accusing him of producing child pornography by filming himself having sex with his underage goddaughter, who testified against him.
Jurors were forced to view parts of three of those videos in court.
Kelly was also convicted of three of five counts accusing him of inciting minors to engage in sexual activity.
But the jury acquitted him of seven other counts, including obstruction of justice and conspiracy to receive child pornography, accusing him and two associates of rigging his 2008 child pornography trial.
His two associates, Derrell McDavid and Milton Brown, were also cleared of related charges.
Federal prosecutors have since recommended that a 25-year sentence be served consecutively to the New York sentence. That would mean that Kelly would not be eligible to be released from prison until 2066, when she would be 99 years old.
In their sentencing recommendation, prosecutors described Kelly’s behavior as “sadistic,” calling him a “serial sexual predator” with no remorse and “posing a serious danger to society.”
“The only way to ensure that Kelly does not reoffend is to impose a sentence that will keep him in prison for the rest of his life,” the document says.
Prosecutors acknowledged they were seeking more time behind bars than the sentencing guidelines recommend.
But they argued: ‘A consecutive sentence is eminently reasonable given Kelly’s egregious conduct.
“Kelly’s sexual abuse of minors was intentional and prolific.”
However, defense attorney Jennifer Bonjean wrote that even with his 30-year sentence, “Kelly would have to defy all statistical odds to get out of prison alive,” citing data that the average life expectancy for inmates is 64 years.
Instead, he recommended a sentence of around 10 years, at the low end of the sentencing guidelines, which he said could be served concurrently with the New York sentence.
Bonjean argued in court documents that Kelly, who is black, was singled out for behavior that she says white rock stars have gotten away with for decades.
“None have been prosecuted and none will die in prison,” he argued.
Once a big name in R&B music, Kelly was convicted on child pornography charges after two days of jury deliberation. He is pictured in her March 6, 2019 booking photo.
A federal judge ruled that deterrence was not an issue because he lost his wealth and status.
Kelly is shown leaving the Leighton Criminal Court building in Chicago in 2019
In this courtroom sketch, a woman using the pseudonym ‘Jane’, left, testifies in the trial of R. Kelly in federal court in Chicago on August 19.
In court on Thursday, each of the victims read statements arguing that Kelly should be sentenced to a long prison term.
‘Jane’ told Judge Leinenweber: ‘When I think of all I’ve lost because of Robert Kelly, all I can do is cry.
“I will never get back what Robert Kelly took from me,” she said, adding: “When you lose your virginity to a pedophile at the age of 14, your life is never your own.”
“I need closure, I need Robert Kelly in jail for as long as the law allows,” she said, lamenting that she will always be known as the girl R. Kelly urinated on and that her relationship with him left her unable to have a normal romantic relationship.
Another victim, ‘Pauline’, shared how she felt like she was living a double life because her family never knew about the abuse she was enduring.
Now, as an adult, she said she doesn’t trust anyone with her children “because I know firsthand that they can leave.”
Following his comments, prosecutor Jeannice Appenteng said: “For the rest of their lives they will have to live with… victimhood.”
She claimed that Kelly showed no signs of remorse for his actions and went to extreme measures to avoid prosecution, though he was never found guilty of rigging the 2008 trial.
“He heard Jane testify how she lied for him at the grand jury in 2002,” Appenteng told the judge, noting that her parents lied when they didn’t see her in Kelly’s sex tape.
“They were afraid to go against Kelly’s power, money and influence,” Appenteng said. Now is the time for justice.
Kelly was sentenced in New York to 30 years behind bars for his 2021 conviction on extortion and sex trafficking charges in New York federal court.
But Bonjean dismissed the government’s accusations that Kelly blamed the victims, saying: “The idea that [Kelly] it has not assumed its responsibility… the government knows that this is not true.’
He also argued that Jane’s family wanted nothing to do with his 2002 indictment, telling the judge: “The government puts a lot of emphasis on this obstruction charge, of which Mr. Kelly was acquitted.”
In doing so, Bonjean said the government seeks to punish Kelly for conduct for which he was acquitted, which could result in a constitutional violation.
And Bonjean said Kelly’s effective illiteracy must be taken into account, saying it prevented her from seeking help for her trauma.
“These are adverse conditions that continue throughout life,” he said.
Instead, he asked the judge to sentence Kelly to 14 years to concurrently serve his 30-year sentence.
“If there is one person that nobody wants to be on this planet it is R. Kelly,” he said, arguing that there is no need for a stricter sentence to deter others from committing similar crimes.