Federal prosecutors are now attempting to give R Kelly another 25 years on his already 30-year prison sentence for sex crimes. As previously reported by Sis2Sis, the additional years come from a new set of convictions for a Chicago case outside the charges he’s currently serving. Kelly is set to face a sentencing hearing next Thursday because Kelly has been convicted on three counts of “producing child pornography” and “three counts of enticement of minors for sex.” The 56-year-old is facing congruent sentences for both crimes.
As reported by AP, the government filing arguing for the addition of the 25 years argued, “The only way to ensure Kelly does not re-offend is to impose a sentence that will keep him in prison for the rest of his life,” The document continued to describe Kelly’s extensive crimes as “sadistic” and incredibly severe.
“A consecutive sentence is eminently reasonable given the egregiousness of Kelly’s conduct; Kelly’s sexual abuse of minors was intentional and prolific.”
The federal prosecutors acknowledged that the push for stacking consecutive terms was against the recommended term length. Still, they claimed it was necessary to maintain the safety of everyone.
They explained, “Kelly committed horrific crimes against children. He not only refuses to accept any responsibility for his conduct, but he repeatedly deflects any blame for his crimes…Plain and simple, Kelly does not comprehend that what he did was wrong. The Court should impose a consecutive sentence in order to protect the community from Kelly, as he has shown no signs of rehabilitation.”
The controversial singer’s attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, is fighting hard against the decision. She said that if the courts decided on consecutive sentences, Kelly would likely not live through his prison stint. Bonjean wrote, “A 30-year sentence of imprisonment for an African American man with diabetes is a life sentence statistically speaking.” She attempted to call out the federal government for their focus on Kelly as a Black man as a means to dispute the request for a consecutive serving of the terms, “The federal government’s obsession with ensuring that Kelly dies in prison is particularly troubling where it seems to have no appetite for investigating or initiating prosecutions of numerous other famous (White) musicians with credible histories of sexually abusing underage women.”
