R. Kelly Should Get More Than 25 Years In Prison, NYC Prosecutors Say

New York City NY

09 June, 2022

11:57 AM

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NEW YORK CITY — R. Kelly should be trapped in the federal lockup for more than 25 years, prosecutors argued in a new document filed late Wednesday. Kelly, 55, is not only a repeated sexual predator of young women and girls, but is also a "serious danger" to the public, states a blistering, 31-page sentencing memorandum filed in Brooklyn federal court. U.S. attorneys will press a judge during a June 29 sentencing to keep the R&B superstar behind bars until, as it states, "he reaches his 70s," the filing shows. "[Kelly's] decades of crime appear to have been fueled by narcissism and a belief that his musical talent absolved him of any need to conform his conduct — no matter how predatory, harmful, humiliating or abusive to others — to the strictures of the law," U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in the memo. "A lengthy sentence of imprisonment will serve to deter others — including those with wealth, fame and the outsized power such status brings — from engaging in similar crimes." Kelly — whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly — once stood atop the music industry and popular culture as the singer of hits such as "I Believe I Can Fly." But a long trail of sexual abuse accusations followed him from his hometown of Chicago. They cast a shadow over the singer's reputation and numerous exposés, court battles and a documentary series — "Surviving R. Kelly" — that detailed stories from women who said Kelly preyed upon and subjected them to perverse and sadistic whims when they were underage. Kelly, however, stayed out of prison for decades — until federal prosecutors in New York City mounted a sprawling racketeering case against him in which jurors found him guilty on nine counts. The sentencing memo argues that Kelly's crimes fall in four categories: enticement of children, sexual exploitation of children through the production of child pornography, forced labor and exposing others to his genital herpes without informing sexual partners. Kelly not only used his fame, money and popularity to carry out his crimes, but also a cadre of business managers, security guards, lawyers and more to execute and conceal his predatory behaviors, the memo argues. "His actions were brazen, manipulative, controlling and coercive," the memo states. "He has shown no remorse or respect for the law." "He continued his crimes and avoided punishment for them for almost 30 years and must now be held to account," it states. Kelly awaited his sentencing in a notorious Brooklyn federal jail. gov.uscourts.nyed.434840.304.0_1 by Matt Troutman on Scribd