Federal prosecutors recommend R. Kelly be sentenced to more than 25 years in prison
CNN
By Rob Frehse, CNN
Federal prosecutors in New York recommended that disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly be sentenced to more than 25 years in prison, citing his “decades of crime” and a “callous disregard for the very real effects that his crimes had on his victims,” according to a sentencing memorandum filed Wednesday.
They also recommended Kelly should be fined between $50,000 to $250,000, according to the document.
Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, was convicted in September of racketeering, including acts of bribery and sexual exploitation of a child, and of separate charges of sex trafficking.
In their filing this week, prosecutors argued Kelly showed no remorse for what he did, and that his actions were fueled by 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.”
CNN has reached out to Kelly’s attorney for comment.
A timeline of the R. Kelly case
The lengthy recommendation proposed by the government is necessary to deter others from engaging in similar conduct, prosecutors said Wednesday.
“While the government doubts that the defendant will be deterred, 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,” the memorandum said.
“This is particularly so given the high-profile nature of the defendant and the likelihood that the length of his sentence will be widely publicized,” it added.
In his federal case, Kelly was found guilty of all nine counts he faced — one count of racketeering, with 14 underlying acts that included sexual exploitation of a child, kidnapping, bribery and sex trafficking charges — and eight counts of violating the Mann Act, which prohibits sex trafficking across state lines.
Of the 14 underlying acts for the racketeering count, he needed to be found guilty of at least two to be convicted of that count. Jurors found prosecutors had proven all but two of the 14 underlying racketeering acts.
Kelly is expected to be sentenced on June 29 in the Eastern District of New York.
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