After R. Kelly was convicted on racketeering and sex trafficking charges, will the disgraced R&B star spend the rest of his life behind bars? One legal analyst believes so.
Kelly on Monday was found guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking after years of being accused of sexually abusing underage girls. He'll be sentenced in May, and he could receive between 10 years and life in prison. He's also still facing other charges, including multiple counts of sexual abuse in Chicago and prostitution and solicitation charges in Minnesota.
Given this, ABC Chief Legal Analyst Dan Abrams predicted Tuesday on Good Morning America that Kelly will spend the rest of his life in prison, both as a result of his Monday conviction and because of the additional charges. "Regardless of what this sentence is, I don't expect him to ever walk free again," Abrams said. Kelly has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges against him.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Multiple alleged victims of Kelly celebrated Monday's verdict, with Jerhonda Pace, who testified during the trial, writing, "I'm so grateful to be a voice for those who didn't have the courage. I'm thankful to stand with those who were brave enough to speak up." Another accuser, Kitti Jones, told The Daily Beast that "we got justice," while still calling this a "small victory" because "in the end none of us will get our time back."
Accuser Lisa Van Allen also told Good Morning America she "almost cried" after hearing the verdict, adding that this was "what I was looking for back in 2008," when Kelly was acquitted on child pornography charges. Van Allen testified during that previous trial, but she suggested Kelly was found guilty this time because more accusers came forward and "there's power in numbers." Tamra Simmons, executive producer of the documentary Surviving R. Kelly, also told GMA, "I am so thankful that Black women's voices are now being able to be heard."
-
Air strikes in the Caribbean: Trump’s murky narco-warTalking Point Drug cartels ‘don’t follow Marquess of Queensberry Rules’, but US military air strikes on speedboats rely on strained interpretation of ‘invasion’
-
Crossword: September 14, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Sudoku medium: September 14, 2025The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
