American R&B singer R. Kelly has faced repeated accusations of sexual abuse for incidents dating from 1991 to 2018 and has been the subject of a long-term investigation by the Chicago Sun-Times since August 2000. He has been tried in multiple civil suits and criminal trials, starting in 1996 and culminating in a 2021 conviction for violations of the Mann Act and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, and a 2022 conviction for production of child pornography. Defenders of Kelly maintained that he was merely a "playboy" and a "sex symbol."[1] Judge Ann Donnelly, who presided over Kelly's 2021 trial, summarized Kelly's actions as having "[used] his fame and organization to lure young people into abusive sexual relationships—a racketeering enterprise that the government alleged spanned about 25 years."[2]
Following leaked video recordings, Kelly was prosecuted on child pornography charges in 2002, leading to a controversial trial that ended with his acquittal in 2008 on all charges. In 2018, Kelly released a response track titled "I Admit", in which he refuted claims of sexual abuse, cult leading and pedophilia. The 2019 documentary Surviving R. Kelly reexamined Kelly's sexual misconduct with minors, prompting RCA Records to terminate his contract. Renewed interest in the allegations resulted in additional investigations by law enforcement beginning in 2019, which led to multiple convictions and Kelly's arrest. In 2021 and 2022, he was convicted on multiple charges involving child sexual abuse. As of 2023, he is serving a 31-year combined sentence at FCI Butner Medium I.
- ^ "R. Kelly, the top-selling R&B star who dodged sex allegations for years". France 24. 2022-06-29. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
- ^ "Memorandum Decision and Order" (PDF), United States of America v. Robert Sylvester Kelly (Court Filing), no. 1:19-cr-00286, Docket 318, E.D.N.Y., 2022-06-29, retrieved 2022-08-02 – via Recap (PACER current docket view
)
