NEW YORK — A federal appeals court in Manhattan has confirmed R. Kelly’s convictions for racketeering and sex trafficking, along with his 30-year prison sentence. The judges concluded that the renowned singer misused his celebrity status for over 25 years to commit sexual abuses against girls and young women.
On Wednesday, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the original ruling following arguments presented back in March. The Grammy-winning artist was found guilty in 2021 at a Brooklyn federal court of various charges, which included racketeering and sex trafficking.
R. Kelly’s attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, expressed her confidence that the Supreme Court would opt to hear an appeal. She deemed the ruling from the 2nd Circuit as “unprecedented,” suggesting it allows prosecutors to broadly apply racketeering laws in ways that deviate significantly from the law’s original purpose.
Previously, the Supreme Court declined to review an appeal involving a 20-year sentence handed down after Kelly was found guilty of child sex charges in 2022, which encompassed producing images of child sexual abuse in Chicago.
The 2nd Circuit dismissed Kelly’s claims that the trial lacked sufficient evidence, questioned the constitutionality of certain state laws leveraged against him, and asserted that juror bias and the trial judge’s decisions rendered the trial unfair. The court ruled that the racketeering charge, which is typically associated with organized crime, was applicable in this case.
“Supported by a network of managers and staff members for over twenty-five years, Kelly capitalized on his fame to manipulate girls and young women,” stated the appeals court, highlighting that members of his team aided in his access to underage girls.
The court detailed how evidence from the trial showed Kelly would isolate victims from their friends and families, maintain strict control over their lives, and subject them to multiple forms of abuse—verbal, physical, and sexual.
Permitting a number of accusers to testify about Kelly allegedly transmitting herpes to them without warning about his STD was deemed “neither arbitrary nor irrational” by the appeals court. They found it not excessively prejudicial that seven witnesses who were minors during the abuse were allowed to share their accounts, clarifying that none of the testimony was more inflammatory than the charges themselves.
The judges also ruled it was not unduly prejudicial for jurors to view explicit videos during the trial, stating that these pieces of evidence were relevant to demonstrating how Kelly operated his abusive enterprise and the degree of control he exerted over his victims.
In her comments regarding the ruling, Bonjean pointed out that a partial dissent by Judge Richard J. Sullivan acknowledged the majority opinion as “excellent,” but disagreed with a restitution amount awarded to one victim for a lifetime supply of herpes medication, arguing that this was an attempt to unfairly enrich government witnesses.
R. Kelly, whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, is widely recognized for his well-known tracks, including the 1996 anthem “I Believe I Can Fly” and the multipart musical narrative “Trapped in the Closet.”
Despite selling millions of records and maintaining popularity, particularly in the 1990s, he faced allegations of abuse throughout the years. Although he was acquitted in 2008 of charges related to child sexual abuse images, a subsequent trial in Chicago culminated in a conviction for producing such images and enticing minors for sexual acts in 2022.
The outcry over Kelly’s misconduct gained significant attention during the #MeToo movement, peaking following the release of the documentary “Surviving R. Kelly,” which shed light on his actions.
