A federal appeals court has decided to uphold singer R. Kelly’s sex trafficking convictions and 30-year prison sentence. The court argues that the disgraced legend exploited his fame for over a quarter of a century to sexually abuse girls and young women.
On Wednesday (February 12), the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan, New York made its ruling after hearing arguments last March. In 2021, the Grammy-winning and multiplatinum-selling R&B songwriter was convicted in a Brooklyn federal courtroom on multiple charges, including racketeering and sex trafficking.
While filing an appeal, R. Kelly’s attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, said that she believed the Supreme Court would agree to hear an appeal. Bonjean labeled the 2nd Circuit ruling “unprecedented.” She argued that it gives prosecutors limitless discretion to apply the racketeering law “to situations absurdly remote” from the statute’s intent.
RELATED: R. Kelly’s Child Abuse Conviction Upheld In Chicago Court
Supreme Court Declines To Hear R. Kelly’s 20-Year Sentence Appeal
In 2024, the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of a 20-year sentence that R. Kelly, born Robert Sylvester Kelly, was convicted in 2022 of child sex charges, including charges of producing images of child sexual abuse in Chicago.
The singer argued that: the trial evidence was inadequate; the constitutionality of some state laws used against him were questionable; four jurors were biased; the trial judge made a few improper rulings; and that a racketeering charge more commonly used in organized crime cases was improper. However, the 2nd Circuit rejected the singer’s arguments.
Federal Appeals Court Upholds R. Kelly Sex Trafficking Convictions And 30-Year Prison Sentence
The appeals court, made up of a three-judge panel, noted that members of R. Kelly’s entourage helped introduce him to underage girls. They said:
“Enabled by a constellation of managers, assistants, and other staff for over twenty-five years, Kelly exploited his fame to lure girls and young women into his grasp. Evidence at trial showed that he would isolate them from friends and family, control nearly every aspect of their lives, and abuse them verbally, physically, and sexually.”
RELATED: Not Giving Up: R. Kelly Reportedly Asks U.S. Supreme Court To Overturn Sex Convictions
The court continued to note that it was “neither arbitrary nor irrational” that several R. Kelly accusers were permitted to testify at trial, claiming the singer gave them herpes without disclosing he had an STD. It also noted that it was not “unduly prejudicial or cumulative” that seven witnesses, who were minors when Kelly began abusing them, were allowed to testify. The appeals court said, “None of the testimony was more inflammatory than the charged acts.”
The court added that it was not “unfairly prejudicial” for the trial judge to let the jurors view graphic videos, which “were properly admitted to show the means and methods of the enterprise, including the level of control and dominance Kelly had over his victims.”
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