In a sex abuse trial in New York last year, the disgraced R&B superstar was convicted guilty of racketeering and trafficking. During the trial, other accusers claimed that Kelly subjected his victims to twisted and brutal treatment when they were minors.
This document arrives before R Kelly’s impending sentencing later this month. The 55-year-old is also scheduled to face a second trial in August on charges of child pornography possession and obstruction of justice.
Prosecutors alleged in a sentencing letter filed on Wednesday that the I Believe I Can Fly singer “preyed upon children and young women for his own sexual enjoyment” for decades while “relying on his celebrity, money, and notoriety.”
They said, “He maintained his crimes and evaded punishment for them for nearly three decades; he must now be held accountable.”
Kelly stated at the time of his verdict that he intended to appeal, but not until he received his sentence.
It was first believed that he may face up to 20 years in prison, but his attorneys have argued that he deserves a maximum of approximately 17 years.
However, in their memo, prosecutors emphasized the gravity of his offenses, describing them as “planned, deliberate, and part of a long-standing pattern” and citing the possibility that he would conduct other crimes if released.
“The government has little doubt that the defendant would re-offend if given the opportunity,” they said.
“He poses a grave threat to the general population. His conduct was bold, manipulative, authoritarian, and coercive. He has exhibited neither regret nor regard for the law.”
Jurors heard testimony regarding a bogus marriage scheme devised by Kelly to shield himself after he felt he had impregnated R&B singer Aaliyah in 1994 when she was only 15 years old.
According to witnesses, they were married in matching jogging suits with a license that erroneously listed her age as 18 and his as 27.
Prosecutors stated in the sentencing letter that Kelly “gathered members of his enterprise to help him pay a government official so he could fraudulently and clandestinely marry Aaliyah” to “conceal the abuse and evade punishment.”
What do Kelly’s attorneys claim?
A rival defense memorandum asserted that the grounds for a harsher sentence overreached by falsely asserting that the 55-year-old conspired to pay “a public aid officer to provide an identification card” so that the sham marriage could proceed.
Kelly’s attorneys also argued that it was incorrect to argue he should receive a longer sentence because he sexually abused one of his victims – referred to in court as “Jane” – after her parents trusted him to help her with her musical career.
The papers state, “Jane’s parents directed her to lie about her age to the defendant and then urged her to seduce him.”
Kelly is scheduled to be sentenced on June 29 and will face a second trial in August, which may result in additional convictions and imprisonment.
In this case, he is charged with child pornography possession and obstruction of justice.
