R. Kelly’s sex trafficking conviction, 30-year prison sentence upheld by federal appeals court in Manhattan

NEW YORK — A federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld Chicago native and former R&B superstar R. Kelly’s 30-year prison sentence on convictions for racketeering and sex trafficking.

The 58-year-old Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, was convicted in 2021 by a Brooklyn, N.Y., jury on nine counts and sentenced to 30 years in June 2022 for using his superstardom to subject young fans — some just children — to systematic sexual abuse.

Kelly sought relief in appeals court, his lawyer attempting to reverse his convictions or win him a new trial by arguing to judges on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan that prosecutors improperly used a racketeering statute that was written to shut down organized crime to instead go after the singer.

The appeals court rejected Kelly’s claims on Wednesday, concluding in its decision: “We have considered all arguments presented by Kelly on appeal and concluded they are without merit. For the reasons set forth (in the court document) we AFFIRM the district court’s judgment.”

Kelly is serving a 20-year prison sentence concurrently from a separate case after being convicted in Chicago in 2022 on three charges of producing child sexual abuse images and three charges of enticement of minors for sex.

In October, the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from Kelly in that case. A federal appeals court in Chicago previously rejected Kelly’s appeal in that case, ruling last April that he was correctly sentenced to 20 years on the child sex convictions.

Kelly is serving a total of 31 years on both convictions after a judge ruled he could serve 19 years of the sentences simultaneously, with one year added.