US prosecutors have asked a judge to give singer R. Kelly 25 more years in prison for his child pornography and enticement convictions last year in Chicago, which would add to the 30 years he recently began serving in a New York case. The 56-year-old wouldn’t be eligible for release until he was around 100 if the judge agrees both to the 25-year sentence and another government request that Kelly begin serving his Chicago sentence only after the 30-year New York sentence is fully served. In their sentencing recommendation filed late Thursday in U.S. District Court in Chicago, prosecutors described Kelly’s behavior as “sadistic,” calling him “a serial sexual predator” with no remorse and who “poses a serious danger to society.” “The only way to ensure Kelly does not reoffend is to impose a sentence that will keep him in prison for the rest of his life,” the 37-page government filing says. Kelly’s sentencing in Chicago is set for Thursday next week. Kelly’s lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, wrote in a filing last week that even with his existing 30-year New York sentence, “Kelly would have to defy all statistical odds to make it out of prison alive.” She cited data that the average life expectancy of inmates is 64. She recommended a sentence of around 10 years, at the low end of the sentencing guidelines range, which she said could be served simultaneously with the New York sentence.
In arguing for the lesser sentence, Bonjean alleged Kelly, who is Black, was singled out for behavior that she said white rock stars have gotten away with for decades. “None have been prosecuted and none will die in prison,” she wrote. Prosecutors acknowledged that a 25-year sentence in the Chicago case would be more time than even sentencing guidelines recommend. But they argued imposing a long sentence and instructing it be served only after the New York sentence was appropriate. “A consecutive sentence is eminently reasonable given the egregiousness of Kelly’s conduct,” the filing argued. “Kelly’s sexual abuse of minors was intentional and prolific.” At the trial in Chicago last year, jurors convicted the Grammy Award winning singer on six of 13 counts. But the government lost the marquee count that Kelly and his then-business manager successfully rigged his state child pornography trial in 2008.
