A federal appeals court in Manhattan has upheld singer R. Kelly’s racketeering and sex trafficking convictions, along with his 30-year prison sentence.
Kelly was sentenced in 2022 to more than 30 years in prison for sexually abusing fans, some of them children, racketeering, and sex trafficking.
The 2nd US circuit court of appeals which ruled on Wednesday after hearing arguments last March, concluded that the 58-year-old used his fame to exploit and sexually abuse girls and young women.
The three-judge panel also rejected Kelly’s claim that prosecutors did not prove he orchestrated a racketeering scheme to recruit women and underage girls for sex.
“Enabled by a constellation of managers, assistants, and other staff for over twenty-five years, R. Kelly exploited his fame to lure girls and young women into his grasp,” they said.
“Evidence at trial showed that he would isolate them from friends and family, control nearly every aspect of their lives, and abuse them verbally, physically, and sexually.”
Jennifer Bonjean, Kelly’s legal representative, in a statement, said she believed that the supreme court would agree to hear an appeal.
She also criticised the court’s ruling, describing it as “unprecedented”, while referencing a partial dissent by Richard J. Sullivan, a judge.
“This was not restitution. This was an effort by the government to unfairly enrich government witnesses for their testimony,” she said.
In 2024, a high court also declined to hear the singer’s appeal on a 20-year sentence handed to him for charges of producing images of child sexual abuse in Chicago.
