Prosecutors recommend R. Kelly be sentenced to more than 25 years in prison

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In a recently filed sentencing memo, federal prosecutors recommended R. Kelly to serve more than 25 years in prison, following his conviction on sex trafficking and racketeering charges. 

According to the documents, obtained by ABC News, prosecutors said the R&B singer “avoided punishment” for the crimes “for almost 30 years and must now be held to account.”

In September of last year, Kelly, born Robert Sylvester Kelly, was found guilty on nine charges related to sexual accusations of misconduct with young women and children. 

In the memo filed in the Eastern District of New York Wednesday, the government cites the “seriousness of the offenses,” asking Judge Ann M. Donnelly to consider a sentence “in excess of 25 years” and a fine between $50,000 to $250,0000.

The memo reads, in part, “Put simply, the defendant’s crimes were calculated, methodical, and part a long-standing pattern of using his platform as a larger-than-life musical persona and his deep network to gain access to teenagers, many of whom were particularly vulnerable, and then to exploit them for his personal gain and sexual gratification.”

Citing their concerns that, if freed, Kelly could commit more crimes, prosecutors declared, “Given the breadth of the defendant’s conduct and its continuity over a period of decades, the government has little doubt that if afforded an opportunity to offend again, the defendant would do so.”

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Kelly is scheduled to be sentenced on June 29. 

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