Last year R&B singer R. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison after being convicted on sex trafficking charges. R. Kelly was convicted on nine counts — one count of racketeering and eight counts of violating the Mann Act in a federal case in the Eastern District of New York. The ‘I Believe I Can Fly’ singer is now awaiting trial for his child pornography case in Chicago.
Kelly’s motion for a new trial has just been denied.
CBS News reports:
Singer and convicted sex offender R. Kelly has been denied all motions for acquittal and a new federal trial, Chicago Federal Judge Harry Leinenweber ruled on Thursday.
The disgraced singer’s attorneys filed the motion for a new trial on Feb. 4, stating that the main witness in the trial misled jurors when she said she was undecided on whether she would be seeking monetary damages from the case.
The motion was denied less than two weeks later.
Thursday, Federal prosecutors asked a judge to give singer R. Kelly 25 more years in prison for his child pornography and enticement convictions last year in Chicago, which would add to 30 years he recently began serving in a New York case.
The 56-year-old wouldn’t be eligible for release until he was around 100 if the judge agrees both to the 25-year sentence and another government request that Kelly begin serving his Chicago sentence only after the 30-year New York sentence is fully served.
In their sentencing recommendation filed late Thursday in U.S. District Court in Chicago, prosecutors described Kelly’s behavior as “sadistic,” calling him “a serial sexual predator” with no remorse and who “poses a serious danger to society.”
“The only way to ensure Kelly does not reoffend is to impose a sentence that will keep him in prison for the rest of his life,” the 37-page government filing says.
