R. Kelly Is Facing 'a Minimum of 15 Years' in Prison on New Charges, Legal Expert Says

July 12, 2019Media Mention
Variety

On the basis of the new charges filed against R. Kelly this week, all of them stemming from longstanding claims of sexual misconduct or abuse, the singer could be looking at a minimum of 15 years in prison if he is found guilty, says attorney Priya Sopori, a partner at Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger LLP in Los Angeles, with many years of experience in cases involving crimes against children.

Of the two indictments unsealed earlier today, the Illinois one lists five unnamed female minors who met Kelly in the 1990s, four of whom appeared in videos in which they had sexual contact or engaged in sex acts with the singer. (Kelly has maintained his innocence in these and all previous charges.)

While Kelly has been accused of sexual misconduct for many years — and was acquitted of child-pornography charges in 2008 — the new charges are federal, and “are considerably more serious than the original state court charges [of which he was acquitted in 2008]. Anyone charged with these crimes is facing considerably more prison time than he otherwise would have,” Sopori explained to Variety.

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