U.S. Says Convicted R&B Singer R. Kelly Deserves More Than 25 Years In Prison

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R. Kelly sits with his attorneys during his sex abuse trial at Brooklyn's Federal District Court in a courtroom sketch in New York, U.S., September 23, 2021. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg

Kelly’s Lawyer Wants To Justify Fewer Years In Prison With His “History And Characteristics”

Prosecutors in the United States said on Wednesday that R. Kelly, the multiplatinum R&B singer, deserved to serve more than 25 years in jail after being convicted of sex trafficking.

Prosecutors said Kelly, 55, used his celebrity for a quarter-century to entice women and young girls for sex, displaying a “callous disdain” for his victims and expressing no remorse, according to a complaint in federal court in Brooklyn.

“Indeed, the defendant’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,” prosecutors said.

Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, faces a mandatory minimum 10-year term at his June 29 sentencing.

Jennifer Bonjean, a lawyer for Kelly, has said he should spend fewer than 14 years in prison, and will, in a filing next Monday, explain why his “history and characteristics” justify a shorter sentence than prosecutors want.

Bonjean’s office declined to comment. – Reuters.