R Kelly to be sentenced for racketeering and sex-trafficking

Mike Bedigan, PA Los Angeles Correspondent

R&B singer R Kelly faces life behind bars for masterminding an elaborate scheme to entice and sexually exploit young aspiring singers and underage children.

The former 90s superstar was branded a "predator" who used his fame and fortune to "prey on the young, the vulnerable, and the voiceless for his own sexual gratification" following his conviction.

He was convicted on multiple counts of racketeering, with the charges relating to bribery and forced labour, by a jury in September last year.

Kelly (55) was also found in violation of an anti-sex trafficking law known as the Mann Act.

The singer, who denied all charges, was found guilty on all nine counts against him following a six-week trial in Brooklyn, New York.

His conviction carries a minimum sentence of 10 years, but he may receive a sentence of up to life imprisonment for his crimes.

Federal prosecutors have asked for a sentence "in excess of 25 years" though the singer’s own lawyers have asked that he receive less than 10 years.

Several victims of his abuses are expected to give victim impact statements to the court, and Kelly himself may even make statements, having declined to take the stand during the trial.

The singer, real name Robert Sylvester Kelly, has been detained at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn since the verdict.