(Chicago) U.S. prosecutors are asking a judge to sentence singer R. Kelly to an additional 25 years in prison for his child pornography convictions last year in Chicago, which would add to the 30 years he recently began serving in another case in New York.
The 56-year-old would not be eligible for release until he is around 100 if the judge agrees to both the 25-year sentence and another government demand that Kelly not begin serving his sentence in Chicago until after the 30-year sentence in New York.
In their sentencing recommendation filed Thursday night in U.S. District Court in Chicago, prosecutors described Kelly’s behavior as “sadistic,” calling him a remorseless “serial sexual predator” who “poses a grave danger to the community.” Company “.
Kelly’s sentencing in Chicago is scheduled for Thursday next week.
Kelly’s attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, wrote in a filing last week that even with her current 30-year sentence in New York, “Kelly would have to defy all statistical odds to get out of prison alive.” She cited data that the average life expectancy for inmates is 64 years.
She recommended a sentence of around 10 years, which she said could be served concurrently with the New York sentence.
At the trial in Chicago last year, jurors convicted the Grammy Award-winning singer on six of thirteen counts. But the government has lost the renowned tally that Kelly and his then business manager successfully rigged his state child pornography trial in 2008.
Kelly, born Robert Sylvester Kelly, rose from poverty in Chicago to stardom, becoming known for his hit I Believe I Can Fly.