US prosecutors ask for 25 more years in prison for R Kelly
Kelly, born Robert Sylvester Kelly, rose from poverty in Chicago to superstardom, becoming known for the smash hit "I Believe I Can Fly" and sex-infused songs such as "Bump n' Grind."
While the Grammy Award-winner went to trial in 2008, it wasn't until after the airing of Lifetime's 2019 docu-series, "Surviving R Kelly" — featuring testimonials by his accusers — that criminal investigations were kicked into high-gear, ending with federal and new state charges.
In January, an Illinois judge dismissed state sex-abuse charges prior to a trial on the recommendation of Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx. Foxx said she was comfortable dropping the case because Kelly would spend decades in prison for his federal convictions.
Prosecutors at Kelly's federal trial in Chicago portrayed him as a master manipulator who used his fame and wealth to reel in star-struck fans to sexually abuse, in some cases to video record them, and then discard them.
After deliberating over two days, jurors convicted Kelly of three counts each of producing child pornography and enticement of minors for sex, while acquitting him of obstruction of justice, one count of production of child porn and three counts of receiving child porn
The Chicago verdict came months after a federal judge in New York sentenced Kelly to 30 years in prison for racketeering and sex trafficking. Based on that sentence alone, he wouldn't be eligible for release until he is around 80.
Even if granted time off for good behaviour, Kelly would =only be eligible for release if he serves 25 years after the New York sentence in the year 2066, the government's Thursday filing said.
It will be up to Judge Harry Leinenweber in Chicago to decide the crucial question of whether Kelly serves whatever sentence he imposes concurrently, simultaneously, with the New York sentence or consecutively.
Kelly's legal team is appealing his New York and Chicago convictions. Prosecutors sometimes press for long sentences for defendants sentenced at earlier trials in a bid to ensure that, if some convictions are later tossed, they will still do some time behind bars.
Bonjean argued that traumas throughout Kelly's life, including abuse as a child and illiteracy throughout adulthood, justified leniency in sentencing the singer.
Kelly "is not an evil monster but a complex (unquestionably troubled) human being who faced overwhelming challenges in childhood that shaped his adult life," she said.
That the conduct for which he was convicted occurred decades ago should also be factored in, she said.
"While Kelly was not a child in the late 1990s, he also was not the middle-aged man he was at the time of his 2019 indictment," she argued. "Kelly was a damaged man in his late 20s."
She added that Kelly has already paid a heavy price from his legal troubles, including a financial one. She said his worth once approached $1 billion but that he "is now destitute".
0 Comment