International News
Embattled singer R. Kelly gets new 20-year jail term
R Kelly was given a 20-year jail sentence by a US judge.
Embattled R&B singer R Kelly was given a 20-year jail sentence by a US judge on Thursday for child pornography and other offences, but he will spend the majority of it concurrently with a prior sentence.
R Kelly, 56, is already serving a 30-year sentence after being found guilty of racketeering and drug trafficking by a Brooklyn jury in a previous federal trial.
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The majority of the new sentence will be served concurrently with the prior one, with all but one year being completed at the same time, the judge in Kelly’s hometown of Chicago decided.
It’s a victory for the defence that R Kelly will serve a maximum of 31 years in prison. In its sentencing memo, the defence argued that “a concurrent term is what fairness demands,” accusing the prosecution of going on a “hunt to ensure that Kelly never sees the light of day.”
Both of Kelly’s federal convictions are being challenged by his attorney, Jennifer Bonjean.
Six of the 13 counts brought against the artist Robert Sylvester Kelly in the Chicago trial—three of making child pornography and three of enticing a minor—led to his conviction in September 2022.
