A federal appeals court upheld R. Kelly’s sex trafficking and racketeering conviction Wednesday, reinforcing the 30-year prison sentence for the disgraced R&B singer. The ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan rejected Kelly’s claims that prosecutors failed to prove he led a criminal enterprise that exploited women and underage girls for sex.
Circuit Judge Denny Chin, writing for a three-judge panel, cited “extensive evidence” demonstrating how Kelly, 58, manipulated victims, controlled their lives, and coerced them into compliance through verbal and physical abuse, threats of blackmail, and humiliation. The court found sufficient grounds for jurors to conclude that Kelly intended to instill fear in his victims to force them into submission.
Kelly’s attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, said she may appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the decision expands the reach of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) beyond its intended scope. “The statute was meant to target organized crime, not individual conduct,” Bonjean stated.
A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn declined to comment.
Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2021 after a Brooklyn jury found him guilty of racketeering and multiple violations of the Mann Act, which prohibits transporting individuals across state lines for illegal sexual activity. The conviction became one of the most high-profile cases of the #MeToo era.
Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, rose to fame in the 1990s with hits such as *I Believe I Can Fly.* His career unraveled following decades of sexual misconduct allegations, which he denied.
The ruling comes as another high-profile music mogul, Sean “Diddy” Combs, faces sex trafficking allegations. Combs is set to stand trial in Manhattan federal court on May 5, with multiple accusers filing civil lawsuits. Combs has denied all allegations.
During Kelly’s trial, 45 government witnesses, including multiple victims, testified about his abusive control, which included forcing them to call him “Daddy,” restricting their movements, and requiring them to write “apology letters” to avoid punishment.
Kelly also appealed on the grounds that prosecutors failed to prove he knowingly exposed victims to herpes and that jurors were biased due to extensive media coverage. The court rejected those arguments.
Kelly is also serving time for a separate 2022 conviction in Chicago, where he was found guilty of child sex crimes. Though sentenced to 20 years, 19 of those years run concurrently with his Brooklyn sentence, effectively adding just one more year to his imprisonment.
In October, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Kelly’s appeal in the Chicago case.
Currently housed at Butner Federal Correctional Institution in North Carolina—a facility that once held Ponzi scheme mastermind Bernard Madoff—Kelly is eligible for release in December 2045, when he will be 78 years old.
Reuters
