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The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear the appeal of former R&B star R. Kelly, who is currently imprisoned after a 2022 federal conviction on multiple charges of sexual misconduct. This was one of two cases in which he was found guilty of sex crimes, including possessing child pornography and luring underage girls to have sex, according to John Kruzel of Reuters.
The justices refused to review Kelly’s challenge to a lower court’s decision that upheld his conviction by a federal jury in Chicago.
Kelly, born Robert Sylvester Kelly, now 57, argued in his Supreme Court petition that prosecutors brought charges after the statute of limitations had expired.
During the Chicago trial, several women testified that Kelly had sexually abused them when they were minors. The jury also saw video evidence of Kelly molesting his goddaughter, who testified that the abuse began in the 1990s when she was a teenager. In this case, Kelly was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted on six counts, though he was acquitted of seven other charges, including obstruction of justice and conspiracy.
Kelly was also convicted in 2021 by a jury in Brooklyn on all nine charges he faced, including racketeering and violating the Mann Act, which prohibits transporting individuals across state lines for prostitution. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison for that case, which will mostly be a concurrent sentence with the case tried in Chicago.
Currently incarcerated at a federal prison in Butner, North Carolina, Kelly is eligible for release in 2045, according to the Bureau of Prisons. His Supreme Court appeal followed the rejection of his challenge by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in April.
The Supreme Court’s decision to deny R. Kelly’s appeal serves as a powerful reminder that fame and fortune do not place anyone above the law. Celebrities, like all individuals, must be held accountable for their actions, and the justice system plays a critical role in ensuring that those who commit heinous crimes face the consequences. Kelly’s case underscores the importance of survivors’ voices being heard and validates the notion that no matter one’s status, justice can and should be served.
