New York prosecutor demands 25 years against R. Kelly

Prosecutors in New York on Thursday demanded 25 years in prison against artist R. Kelly, who was found guilty of human trafficking. International news agencies report this on the basis of documents submitted to the district court in the Brooklyn borough. Kelly was found guilty in September, but will not receive his final sentence until the end of this month. The 54-year-old r&b singer has been incarcerated since 2019.

The punishment would be necessary because of the seriousness of the crimes committed, “the need for deterrence” and to protect the population from R. Kelly, according to the Public Prosecution Service. Kelly lured and abused women and girls for decades. He was arrested in 2019, the year that various victims told their story in detail in the documentary Surviving R. Kelly† In the case that followed, six women testified against him. A twelve-member jury only needed one day in September to find the singer guilty. He has always denied the allegations.

Kelly has been accused of abuse since the 1990s. For example, in 1994 he illegally married the R&B singer Aaliyah, then fifteen years old. In 1997, he was charged with the rape of a minor, a case later settled for $250,000. In 2002 and 2008, he was on trial for making child pornography. These allegations didn’t seem to hurt his music career: he sold millions of albums between the 1990s and 2010.

Also read: Singer R. Kelly found guilty of sexual abuse and human trafficking

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