The Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from the singer R. Kelly on Monday, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted of child sex crimes in Chicago. The Grammy Award-winning R&B singer, whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, was found guilty in 2022 of three charges of producing child sexual abuse images and three charges of enticing minors for sex.
His legal team argued that a shorter statute of limitations on child sex crime prosecutions should have been applied to offenses dating back to the 1990s. However, the justices did not provide specific reasoning for their decision to not hear the case, which is in line with typical practices. Previous lower courts had already rejected Kelly's arguments.
Federal prosecutors presented evidence that included a video showing Kelly engaging in abusive behavior with a girl. The accuser, identified only as Jane, testified that she was 14 years old when the video was recorded.
In addition to his current conviction, Kelly is also appealing a separate 30-year sentence for federal racketeering and sex trafficking convictions in New York.
