Three years ago singer / songwriter R. Kelly was convicted on racketeering and human trafficking charges and sentenced to 30 years in prison [click here if you missed that].
The sentence has been upheld on appeal...
From WGN
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 six 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 sixual 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 sixual abuse images and three charges of enticement of minors for six.
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