R. Kelly’s attorneys are trying to appeal his 30-year sentence by comparing his charges to college fraternities.
Attorney Jennifer Bonjean alleges that Manhattan prosecutors improperly used a racketeering statute to put the disgraced star behind bars.
Kelly is accused of running a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) enterprise from 1994 to 2018. He is accused of trafficking his victims, many of whom were underage, drugging them, engaging in sexual activities with them and even kidnapping.
“This was not a collection of people who had a purpose to recruit girls for sexual abuse or child pornography,” said Bonjean. “Whether they turned a blind eye, whether some of them suspected that some of these girls were underage, that’s a whole different matter. “And once we get into that sort of territory, where we’re going to say that constitutes a RICO enterprise, well we have a lot of organizations — we have a lot of frat houses — we have all types of organizations that are now going to become RICO enterprises.”
The judges are yet to rule on Bonjean’s motion.
