R. Kelly’s attempt to appeal his 20-year sentence on sex crime and child pornography charges has been denied.
On Friday, April 26, the Chicago federal appeals court ruled to uphold Kelly’s lengthy sentence for child pornography and enticement charges. The disgraced singer’s legal team attempted to say his charges had passed the statute of limitations.
However, the appeals court denied the appeal, which was submitted in February, citing how the “statute says otherwise, so we affirm his conviction.” The statute of limitations for sex crimes against children lasts for the rest of the victim’s lives.
Kelly’s appeal came one year after he was sentenced to 20 years on convictions involving six counts of child pornography and enticement for allegedly forcing minors into sexual encounters. His 20-year sentence in Chicago doesn’t include the 30 years he was sentenced to in New York City on counts of racketeering and violating the Mann Act by trafficking women across state lines.
To his benefit, a Chicago judge ruled last year that 19 of Kelly’s 20-year sentence could run concurrently with his 30-year sentence. This means the “I Wish” singer would only serve 31 years in prison.
His Chicago convictions stemmed from five testimonies from people who claimed they were sexually abused by Kelly in the 1990s
when they were minors. During his Chicago trial, Kelly heard 45 victim statements, including 11 from people who said they were physically or sexually abused by the “I Believe I Can Fly” singer.Kelly has maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty to all charges. His lawyer released a statement about the singer’s plans to continue fighting the convictions.
“Our fight is not over. We will see a review from the
USSC (SCOTUS) on the statute of limitations questions at a minimum,” Jennifer Bonjean told TMZ. “And he has habeas remedies at his disposal. And if we win in NY. He will be entitled to resentencing in Illinois. So this story is far from over.”