R. Kelly’s trial concluded today as the embroiled star got the final tally of years he is expected to face behind bars. Already serving 30 years for convictions in New York, R. Kelly received some good news a few weeks ago when Illinois prosecutors decided to drop all charges – considering the singer was looking at life pending his Chicago federal case sentencing. Today, R. Kelly finally received his sentencing, and ultimately, things didn’t turn out too bad for the singer.
R. Kelly’s initial charges in New York stemmed from him flying teenagers around the country for his pleasure. As a result, the singer was found guilty of several charges. That sentence had already handed the 56-year-old a 30-year sentence which meant he would be over 80-years-old when released. However, in September, additional charges were brought up in his home state for the adult films that leaked of him and a teen in the early ’90s.
We found out that the family of the girl was actually paid off by Kelly not to testify and spent years on his payroll. Once they saw all the other women coming forward, they decided to tell the truth. When it became clear that he would be handed another lengthy sentence, his team attempted to push back, saying that even if Kelly survived his 30 years, he would be too old to harm anyone else. They argued that his offenses were all over “a quarter century ago” and he would not “re-offend as a geriatric in his mid-80s.”
Illinois prosecutors took this information into account when they decided to drop all charges. An Illinois prosecutors believed R. Kelly’s 30 year sentencing in addition to his pending Chicago case would be more than enough time relating to his offenses. Rather than pursuing the case, the state decided to save their resources for more pressing items. Obviously, this decision concerned many people considering R. Kelly and his legal team were working to appeal his 30 year sentence. However, the appeal was denied.
Today it was announced that Kelly would indeed be charged with an additional 20 years, but that it would be served “concurrently, or at the same time as his other sentence. One year would be served consecutively, or after that sentence is complete,” according to US District Judge Harry D. Leinenweber. They called it a “de facto life sentence.” R. Kelly’s legal team were pushing for an additional 10 years, but this is a much better deal than life overall.
Ultimately, Kelly is only going to be serving one additional year. Prosecutors were pushing for him to serve all of the time and reminded the court that not only has Kelly violated and targeted young women for years, but he has yet to take accountability for what he did. “To this day, and even following the jury verdict against him, Kelly refuses to accept responsibility for his crimes,” they told the court. While prosecutors were pushing to have the singer spend the rest of his life behind bars, it now appears he’ll be released around the age of 80.
R. Kelly’s legal team has not released a statement relating to the sentencing. We’ll keep you posted on this story. R. Kelly is currently 56 years old.
