R. Kelly to serve 1 additional year in prison for Chicago sex crimes convictions
Written by ABC Audio All Rights Reserved on February 23, 2023
A federal judge in Chicago sentenced singer R. Kelly to 20 years in prison for his child pornography and enticement of minors for sex convictions Thursday.
However, the sentencing only adds one more year to his prison time, as Kelly will serve 19 years concurrently with his New York prison sentence, according to Chicago ABC station WLS. He would then be required to serve one year in the Chicago case.
Kelly is already serving a 30-year prison sentence after he was convicted in a New York federal court last year of racketeering and violating the Mann Act, a sex trafficking law.
He could have could faced between 10 to 90 years in prison for the crimes he was charged with in Chicago.
Prosecutors had recommended Kelly serve 25 years in prison, consecutively to his New York sentence, calling him a sexual predator who used his fame and wealth to abuse his victims, and has shown no remorse, according to WLS.
Kelly’s lawyer asked for a sentence of 10 years to be served concurrently with his New York sentence, saying Kelly being abused as a child justified leniency, WLS reports.
The disgraced 55-year-old singer was found guilty in September in what was his second federal trial.
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