By MICHAEL TARM and CLAIRE SAVAGE
CHICAGO (AP) — R. Kelly was sentenced on Thursday to 20 years in prison for child pornography and enticement of minors for sex but will serve all but one of those simultaneously with a separate 30-year sentence on racketeering and sex trafficking convictions.
The sentence means Kelly could leave prison alive, when he’s about 80. Prosecutors had asked Judge Harry Leinenweber to sentence the 56-year-old Grammy Award winner to 25 years and have him start serving them only after he completed his earlier sentence. That would have been tantamount to sending him to prison for life.
They argued that the stiffer punishment was justified by the seriousness of the crimes and what they said was Kelly’s lack of remorse.
Kelly remained still and impassive, his eyes downcast, when the judge issued his sentence in a Chicago federal courtroom. His composure slipped slightly, however, when a representative read a statement written by “Jane,” a key prosecution witness.
“I was brainwashed by Robert and a sex slave,” Jane’s statement said. “It almost killed me.”
Kelly’s lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, said she was pleased with the judge’s decision.
“It’s the right outcome,” she told reporters following the hearing. “The judge was reasonable. He, I think, took into account both sides and ultimately was fair.”
