The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal from R&B singer R. Kelly, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted of child sex crimes in Chicago. The Grammy Award-winning artist, whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, was found guilty in 2022 of producing child sexual abuse images and enticing minors for sex.
Kelly's lawyers had argued that a shorter statute of limitations on child sex crime prosecutions should have applied to offenses dating back to the 1990s. However, the justices did not provide any reasoning for declining to hear the case, and no dissenting opinions were made public. Lower courts had previously rejected Kelly's arguments.
Federal prosecutors had presented evidence of a video showing Kelly abusing a girl, with the accuser, identified only as Jane, testifying that she was 14 years old at the time the video was taken. In addition to his Chicago conviction, Kelly is also appealing a separate 30-year sentence for federal racketeering and sex trafficking convictions in New York.
The Supreme Court's decision not to hear Kelly's appeal means that his convictions in both Chicago and New York will stand. The singer's legal team has not publicly commented on the Supreme Court's decision at this time. Kelly's case has garnered widespread attention, with many hoping that justice will be served for the victims of his crimes.