A US judge sentenced R. Kelly, the R&B musician to 20 years in jail on Thursday for child pornography and other offenses, but the majority of that time will be served concurrently with a previous sentence.
For racketeering and sex trafficking, R.K is already serving a 30-year sentence after being convicted in a prior federal trial by a Brooklyn jury.
All but one year of the new sentence will be served concurrently with the old one, according to the Chicago judge’s ruling. Both of Kelly’s federal convictions are being challenged by his attorney, Jennifer Bonjean.
The initial convictions
R. Kelly was convicted in September 2022 on six of the 13 counts alleged in the Chicago trial: three counts of producing child pornography and three of enticement of a minor.
A federal jury cleared the singer of seven additional counts, including the accusation that he interfered with justice during a prior trial. A jury found the singer not guilty in the 2008 child pornography case after R.K and two former collaborators were accused of manipulating the proceedings.
One year after R.K’s conviction in New York for routinely enlisting girls and women for sex, he was found guilty on federal charges in Chicago. As the first significant sex assault trial where the majority of the accusers were black women, that verdict was generally seen as a turning point for the #MeToo movement.
It was also the first time Kelly was charged with the abuse of women and children, which had long been rumored.
