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R. Kelly has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for his federal sex crimes case.
The disgraced R&B singer appeared in court on Thursday, February 23, to find out his sentence after he was found guilty of six counts of child pornography last year. As part of his sentence, Kelly will serve 19 years concurrent with the time he's currently serving out from his New York conviction with one year served consecutively. Previously, prosecutors recommended for Kelly to serve a 25-year sentence in addition to the 30 years he's serving now.
R. Kelly was convicted of six out of the 13 charges he faced in Chicago last September. He was accused of sexually abusing four people including three minors. Prosecutors alleged that he recorded his sexual encounters on video, concealed the tapes from his notorious 2008 case and threatened witnesses at the time. The jury heard damning testimony from "Jane," who claimed she was the minor in the infamous video that was leaked to the press over a decade ago, and his former goddaughter, who claimed they had sex numerous times beginning at age 15.
Kelly was found guilty of the child pornography charges but was acquitted of the other seven offense including conspiracy and enticement. He could've received more time, however, additional charges from Cook County State Attorney Kim Foxx were dropped last month. The singer's lawyer Jennifer Bonjean told TMZ that Foxx decided not to go through with the case because he had already been convicted of similar crimes with the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison.
At age 56, Kelly would be in his late eighties by the time he completes his sentence. It's safe to say that he'll spend the remaining best years of his life behind bars.