R. Kelly sentenced to an additional year in prison in Chicago child porn case
A federal judge in Chicago sentenced R. Kelly to an additional year behind bars — on top of the 30 years he’s already spending in prison due to a previous conviction.
On Thursday, US District Judge Harry Leinenweber sentenced the “I Believe I Can Fly” singer, 56, to 20 years in prison after he was found guilty of three counts of producing child pornography and three counts of enticing a minor into criminal sexual activity.
However, the judge said he could serve 19 of those years concurrently with the sentence he is currently serving for a federal racketeering conviction in New York.
After he completes his sentence for the New York conviction, he has to serve one more year for his Chicago conviction.
“No matter what I do, Mr. Kelly isn’t going out the door after today,” Leinenweber said in court, per the Chicago Sun-Times. “He’s not going out the door in the next 10 years, he’s not going out the door in the next 20 years.
“Bear in mind he’s 56 years old. And as [his lawyer Jennifer] Bonjean points out, he has a life expectancy of not a hell of a lot more — eight, 10 years,” he added.
Bonjean says she plans to appeal the sentence, which comes five months after he was found guilty of several sex crimes.
During the trial, the jury watched snippets from several videos of Kelly sexually abusing an underage girl, who was the disgraced singer’s goddaughter.
The girl, who went by “Jane” during the trial, said Kelly began sexually abusing her when he was only 14. When she turned 15, she told the jury, they began having sexual intercourse “innumerable times … like, uncountable.”
In September 2021, Kelly was found guilty of all nine counts against him, including racketeering and violations of the Mann Act, which prohibits the transport of “any woman or girl” across state lines for any “immoral purpose.”
The following June, the “Ignition” singer was sentenced to 30 years behind bars for the crimes.
