Singer and sex offender R. Kelly should stay behind bars until he is in his 80s, U.S. federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
“In light of the seriousness of the offences, the need for specific deterrence and the need to protect the public from further crimes of the defendant … the government respectfully submits that a sentence in excess of 25 years is warranted,” read a filing by Breon Peace of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
Kelly was convicted last September in New York City of one count of racketeering – which included 14 underlying acts including sexual exploitation of a child, kidnapping and bribery – and eight counts of sex trafficking.
The 55-year-old singer is scheduled to be sentenced on June 29. Prosecutors also recommended Kelly be fined between $50,000 and $250,000 U.S.
Kelly’s lawyer Jennifer Bonjean is seeking a sentence of less than 14 years for her client.
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“In order to carry out his many crimes, the defendant relied upon his fame, money and popularity as an R&B recording star and used the large network of people his status afforded him … to both carry out and conceal his crimes.
“He must now be held to account.”
Prosecutors said Kelly’s “history and characteristics also support a sentence in excess of 25 years” because his crimes “were not aberrational; they were his regular mode of operation, which he had no intention of ceasing.”
The filing urges the judge to impose a sentence that acts as a deterrent to criminal conduct and protects the public. “The government has little doubt that if afforded an opportunity to offend again, [Kelly] would do so,” it reads.
Nine women and two men testified during the six-week trial about how Kelly used his fame to lure them with promises of helping them in the music business. Several said they were underage when he sexually assaulted them. Some of the testimony was graphic and jurors were shown videos of sex acts that prosecutors said were non-consensual.
Prosecutors portrayed Kelly as a serial abuser who exercised “control over these victims using every trick in the predator handbook” but his defence lawyers labelled his accusers as “groupies” who “made a choice” to have relationships with Kelly.
The verdict came 13 years after Kelly was acquitted of child pornography charges in Illinois and two years after the documentary Surviving R Kelly, in which several women shared their stories and Kelly's brother Bruce said his famous sibling has a “preference” for younger females that goes back decades.
Kelly faces another trial on sex crimes in Illinois that is scheduled to get underway in August. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.