R. Kelly Sentenced to 20 Years For Child Sex Crimes

On Thursday, disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly, who's already serving 30 years for sex trafficking, was sentenced to 20 years in federal child porn case.

R. Kelly, already serving 30 years in prison for sex trafficking, has gotten an additional 20 years in prison for child sex crimes. On Thursday (February 23), the disgraced R&B singer learned his fate in a Chicago courtroom, after being convicted last year on charges of child pornography and enticement of a minor, per CNN.

The 56-year-old artist is currently serving a 30-year prison term for his 2021 conviction on  on racketeering and sex trafficking charges in a New York federal court. Last September, Kelly was convicted on three counts of production of child pornography and three counts of enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity. Last week, a motion for a new trial was denied.

Prosecutors have asked that Kelly's 25-year sentence to be served after his other 30-year prison sentence is complete.

“Robert Kelly is a serial sexual predator who, over the course of many years, specifically targeted young girls and went to great lengths to conceal his abuse of Jane and other minor victims,” prosecutors said in a filing. “To this day, and even following the jury verdict against him, Kelly refuses to accept responsibility for his crimes.”

The defense said that R. Kelly is already serving a "de facto life sentence” and asked for any sentence to be served simultaneously with his 30-year sentence in the New York case.

“In the unlikely event that Kelly was to survive his 30-year sentence, there is no reason to believe he would reoffend as a geriatric in his mid-80s,” his attorneys wrote. “The overwhelming majority of Kelly’s criminal conduct was committed a quarter century ago.”