Somto BisinaR. Kelly has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for his child sex convictions, but he won’t spend the rest of his life behind bars.
In a courtroom in his hometown of Chicago, a federal judge rejected prosecutors’ call to keep him locked up until he was 100 years old.
Kelly, 56, is already serving a 30-year sentence he received after a Brooklyn jury in a separate federal trial convicted him on racketeering and sex trafficking charges.
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The judge in Chicago, Kelly’s hometown, where he was once seen as a source of pride, ruled that most of the new sentence would be served concurrently with the previous one, with all but one year taken at the same time.
That Kelly will spend a maximum of 31 years in prison is a win for the defence, which urged in its sentencing memorandum that “a concurrent sentence is what fairness demands,” accusing the prosecution of engaging in a “quest to ensure that Kelly never sees the light of day.”
This means that R. Kelly, who is currently 56 years old, could be released from prison when he is approximately 80 years old.
While the sentence may allow Kelly to live out the rest of his life outside of prison, the judge acknowledged the horrific nature of his crimes and the lasting impact they would have on his victims.
“The nature of this offense is…horrific,” said Leinenweber. “He noted that Kelly’s sexual abuse victims would suffer from his crimes for the rest of their lives.”
The judge also considered the possibility that Kelly may not live long enough to complete his sentence, stating that he has a life expectancy of “not a hell of a lot more.”
Nonetheless, he made it clear that Kelly’s actions were reprehensible and that he needed to be held accountable for them. The sentence brings a measure of closure to the case and sends a message that sexual abuse will not be tolerated in any form.
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