R. Kelly was sentenced to 20 years in prison in a Chicago federal courtroom Thursday following his conviction last year on charges of child pornography and enticement of a minor.
The disgraced singer is already serving a 30-year prison term for his 2021 conviction on racketeering and sex trafficking charges in a New York federal court. 19 years of the 20-year prison sentence would be served concurrently, or at the same time as his other sentence, said US District Judge Harry D. Leinenweber in court.
Prior to the sentence, attorney Christopher Brown read from a statement given by one of Kelly’s victims, identified as “Jane.”
“I have lost my dignity due to Robert Kelly. I have lost my dreams due to Robert Kelly. I have lost my teenage years to Robert Kelly,” he read. “I will forever be the girl that R Kelly peed on,” Jane said through the attorney, referring to the infamous sex tape video shown during his trial which showed the singer urinating on a victim.
“Robert Kelly is a serial sexual predator who, over the course of many years, specifically targeted young girls and went to great lengths to conceal his abuse of Jane and other minor victims,” prosecutors said in a filing. “To this day, and even following the jury verdict against him, Kelly refuses to accept responsibility for his crimes.”
