R&B icon R Kelly has launched an appeal to overturn his 30-year racketeering sentence, issued in 2022.
The musician was convicted of racketeering and trafficking after a high-profile trial in New York in 2021, culminating years of accusations against him throughout his career.
Although he was absent from the appeal, his lawyer Jennifer Bonjean contends that prosecutors failed to substantiate their racketeering claims or prove his involvement with multiple women.
Bonjean argues against the notion that Kelly’s staff were aware of illegal activities transpiring behind closed doors, emphasizing their limited involvement in administrative tasks.
“There were rules and things, [the staff] did these anodyne tasks that were perhaps a little unusual, but not that put them on notice that what was happening behind closed doors was illegal,” she said.
Assistant US attorney Kayla Bensing, representing the prosecution, portrays Kelly as orchestrating a system that exploited young individuals, drawing attention to instances of underage girls being invited backstage.
Bensing highlights Kelly’s marriage to Aaliyah and allegations of herpes transmission as damning evidence against him.
The case also delves into claims of forced labor, with Bensing asserting that Kelly coerced individuals into providing sexual services through threats of harm.
In response, Bonjean challenges the legal basis for labeling certain acts as forced labor, urging a reevaluation of federal law.
In February 2023, Federal prosecutors had argued that Mr. Kelly, 56, deserved 25 years in prison on top of his earlier sentence, citing the singer’s “lack of remorse” as a reason he would pose a danger to society if released.
“The only way to ensure he will not reoffend is to impose a sentence that will keep him in prison for the rest of his life,” Jeannice Williams Appenteng, one of the prosecutors, said in court on Thursday.
The judges presiding over the appeal will review the arguments presented and issue a written decision at a later date.
Meanwhile, R Kelly, now 57, faces a lengthy imprisonment, with his earliest release not expected until he reaches 80 years old.
