Prosecutors say R. Kelly deserves more than 25 years in prison

Prosecutors in the United States have said the disgraced R&B singer R Kelly deserves to spend more than 25 years in prison after he was convicted of sex trafficking.

They have declared that the singer exploited his stardom and wealth in exchange for sex, demonstrating a "callous disregard" for his victims.

The singer is scheduled to be sentenced on June 29 after he was found guilty of sexually abusing women, boys and girls for decades.

Prosecutors said: "Indeed, the defendant's decades of crime appear to have been fuelled by narcissism and a belief that his musical talent absolved him of any need to conform his conduct - no matter how predatory, harmful, humiliating or abusive to others - to the strictures of the law."

Kelly, 55, who has been jailed since 2019, remains a "serious danger" to the public, justifying keeping him behind bars until well into his 70s, prosecutors added.

He has continued to deny the accusations, which date back to the early 2000s.

Witnesses said Kelly would demand that his victims strictly obey rules such as needing his permission to eat or go to the bathroom, calling him "Daddy", and writing "apology letters" that purported to absolve him of wrongdoing.

Kelly also faces federal charges in Chicago on child pornography and obstruction, and state charges in Illinois and Minnesota.

Prosecutors say Kelly has "shown no remorse for any of his conduct".