More trials? Consecutive sentences? What’s next for convicted R&B singer R. Kelly
For the second time in less than a year, Chicago-born R&B singer R. Kelly finds himself convicted of serious federal child-sex crimes and staring at a lengthy prison term.
Last September, a jury in New York found him guilty of racketeering conspiracy charges alleging his musical career doubled as a criminal enterprise aimed at satisfying his predatory sexual desires — a case that resulted in a whopping 30-year sentence.
The latest conviction came in U.S. District Court in Kelly’s hometown, where a jury on Wednesday found the “I Believe I Can Fly” singer guilty of sexually abusing his 14-year-old goddaughter on videotape back in the 1990s, as well as sexual misconduct with two other minors around the same time period.
The same jury acquitted Kelly on high-profile conspiracy charges, but he still faces anywhere from 10 to 90 years in prison when he’s sentenced Feb. 23 by U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber.
Among the unanswered questions: Will the judge order that Kelly serve his sentences in Chicago and New York consecutively? That would almost certainly assure the 55-year-old former superstar would spend the rest of his life in prison.
