Federal prosecutors are recommending that R&B singer R. Kelly be sentenced to at least 25 years behind bars.
According to the Associated Press, on Wednesday, prosecutors filed a 31-page sentencing memo and stated the disgraced 55-year-old artist used his “fame, money and popularity” to “prey upon children and young women for his own sexual gratification.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York wrote, “He continued his crimes and avoided punishment for them for almost 30 years and must now be held to account.”
The attorney’s office believes Kelly deserves a severe punishment in order for justice to be served, the New York Post reported.
“In light of the seriousness of the offenses, the need for specific deterrence and the need to protect the public from further crimes of the defendant … the government respectfully submits that a sentence in excess of 25 years is warranted,” the office wrote.
In Sept. 2021, a New York City jury found the “I Believe I Can Fly” singer guilty of racketeering and sexually abusing women, boys, and girls for years, the Associated Press reported. During the 25-day trial, the NY Daily News reported that more than 40 witnesses and 11 accusers recounted the abuse that took place at the hands of the “Ignition” singer.
Jennifer Bonjean, Kelly’s attorney, plans to file a memo in the coming days to explain why the singer should receive a lighter sentence of 14 years or less, the New York Post reported. According to The Daily News, Bonjean added, “[M]any of the enhancements suggested by the government and probation are simply unsupported by the evidence and the law.”
The singer is scheduled to be sentenced on June 29, and if federal prosecutors have their way, he could spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Kelly is also slated to begin trial in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on Aug. 1 for child pornography charges, the New York Times reported.