New York: A U.S. judge sentenced disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly to 20 years in prison on Thursday for child pornography and other charges, but he will serve most of it alongside a previous sentence.
Kelly, 56, is already serving a 30-year sentence he received after a Brooklyn jury in a separate federal trial convicted him of racketeering and trafficking.
The judge in Chicago – Kelly’s hometown, where he was once considered a source of pride – ruled that most of the new sentence would be served at the same time as the previous one, with all but one year taken at the same time .
The fact that Kelly will spend a maximum of 31 years in prison is a victory for the defense, which insisted in its sentencing memorandum that “a concurrent sentence is what fairness demands”, accusing the prosecution of engage in a “quest to make sure Kelly never sees the light of day.”
His attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, is appealing Kelly’s two federal convictions.
Born artist Robert Sylvester Kelly was found guilty in September 2022 of six of the 13 charges alleged at the Chicago trial: three counts of producing child pornography and three of enticing a minor.