
Audio By Carbonatix
Disgraced singer R. Kelly must spend an extra year in prison on top of a 30-year sentence he is already serving.
Kelly was jailed in June 2022 for three decades for sex trafficking and racketeering after a trial in New York.
Several months later, he was convicted in a second federal trial in Chicago of enticing minors for sex and producing child sexual imagery.
He has now received a 20-year term for those crimes, but 19 will be served at the same time as the previous sentence.
If served in full, he will be behind bars until he is in his mid-80s.
Federal prosecutors were seeking a 25-year sentence in the second case, higher than required under federal sentencing guidelines. They said Kelly's crimes were made worse by the fact that he filmed them, with some of the footage later becoming available online.
"Because Kelly is Kelly, more people have watched child pornography," they said in a memo. "The effects of Kelly's conduct are wide-ranging, incalculable and irreversible."
The memo argued that Kelly has an "insatiable" desire to abuse children, and that a lengthy sentence was required to "protect the community" from further harm.
Kelly's defence attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, had asked the judge to allow Kelly to serve his latest sentence concurrently with the previous sentence, meaning he would have served them at the same time. She said a consecutive sentence would amount to a "second life sentence".
She also accused prosecutors of using an "embellished" narrative to "inflame" perceptions of the former R&B star.
During the Chicago trial, the victim - known by the pseudonym "Jane" - testified that Kelly sexually abused her hundreds of times before she turned 18.
Three videos of the abuse were shown to jurors during the trial. Four other women also accused Kelly abusing them as children.
In his previous trial in New York, jurors heard that Kelly trafficked women for sexual abuse across the US, with help from his managers and other members of his entourage.
The Grammy-winning singer - best-known for songs such as Ignition (Remix) and the hugely popular 1996 anthem I Believe I Can Fly - is among the highest-profile musicians accused of abuse in the wake of the #MeToo movement.
Watch: R. Kelly survivor makes tearful statement outside New York court following his sentencing
Latest Stories
-
GFA looks to the future after Colombia humbles Black Stars
18 minutes -
US marks its 250th birthday with fireworks, flyovers and extreme weather
46 minutes -
‘Degree to nowhere’: Dr Adutwum questions relevance of some university programmes
1 hour -
Parliamentary Select Committee on Education worries over exorbitant distance education fees
2 hours -
KMA begins sanitation summons initiative as Zoomlion launches city-wide clean-up to prevent flooding in Kumasi
2 hours -
Ghana secures hosting rights for 70th UN Tourism Africa summit
3 hours -
DVLA warns public against fake fine payment messages
4 hours -
Former NAFCO CEO arrested at airport over alleged attempt to empty frozen bank account ahead of UK trip
4 hours -
We’ve taken a good step – Sports Minister encourages Black Stars after Colombia defeat
5 hours -
We don’t take your sacrifice for granted – Gideon Mensah salutes Ghanaian fans
6 hours -
Gideon Mensah vows Black Stars will bounce back
6 hours -
Video: The friends who drove from Ghana to the World Cup
7 hours -
Mbappe strikes again to send France through
7 hours -
Diaz happy to make a difference for Morocco
7 hours -
Ukraine hits major oil terminal in Russia’s St Petersburg
8 hours