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R. Kelly at a hearing in Chicago in 2019
Photo: Antonio Perez;
Chicago Tribune/dpa
Ex-pop star R. Kelly, who is already in prison for sex crimes, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
However, a judge in Chicago ruled on Thursday that the 56-year-old can serve most of his sentences in parallel.
The reported US media unanimously.
Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison last year in New York for sexual abuse of minors, among other things.
At the Chicago trial, a jury found it proven that the "I Believe I Can Fly" singer had had sexual intercourse with a minor and produced child pornography.
The public prosecutor had demanded that the prison sentences from both processes must be added together.
However, Kelly's defense had argued that the prison sentence from the trial in New York for the singer, given his age, should be regarded as a life sentence anyway.
In both processes, the defense had announced that they wanted to appeal.
The trials are another high-profile legal workup in the #MeToo era, following cases like those of film producer Harvey Weinstein and comedian Bill Cosby.
kfr/dpa
