R. Kelly is staying behind bars.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the singer’s appeal to overturn his convictions of racketeering and Mann Act violations June 23, according to CNN.
Kelly—a.k.a. Robert SylvesterKelly—challenged being convicted under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). Per the outlet, his attorney accused prosecutors of stretching the act’s definition of “enterprise” and argued the term solely applies if members share a common purpose to engage in illegal conduct.
“To hold otherwise would mean that any rogue bad actor operating within a legal organization could be prosecuted under RICO as occurred here,” his attorney stated, per CNN. “This scenario stretches the RICO statute beyond and contrary to its purpose.”
According to CNN, the 58-year-old appealed to the Supreme Court in May after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York upheld his conviction in February. Their decision means his convictions—and the decades-long prison sentences that came with them—will stand.
In 2022, Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison after a federal jury in Brooklyn found him guilty of nine counts of racketeering and Mann Act violations relating to the coercion and transportation of women and girls in interstate commerce for illegal sexual activity. He was also sentenced to 20 years in prison—with the majority of that sentence running concurrently with his previous one—in 2023 after a federal jury in Chicago found him guilty of six of 13 counts of child pornography and enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity. He was acquitted of the other seven counts.
Kelly is fulfilling his sentence at a federal correction institution in Butner, N.C., with prison records showing he is scheduled to be released in December 2045 when he would be 78.
To learn more about the timeline of Kelly’s cases, keep reading.
January 2019
Long before R. Kelly ended up behind bars, he faced allegations of sexual abuse. However, charges brought against him in the 1990s and 2000s—when the singer, otherwise known as Robert Sylvester Kelly, was at the peak of his fame—were either dropped, settled out of court or ended with him being found not guilty.
Decades later in 2017, BuzzFeed News published a report about Kelly’s alleged “cult,” and activists Kenyette Barnes and Oronike Odeleye launched the #MuteRKelly movement. Then in January 2019, Lifetime released its Peabody Award-winning docuseries Surviving R. Kelly, which detailed allegations of physical, mental and sexual abuse against the “Ignition” performer.
John Legend, Lady Gaga, Chance the Rapper and more stars spoke out against him. As for Kelly, he continued to deny the accusations.
“Over a decade ago, he was found innocent of any wrongdoing,” his then-attorney Steve Greenberg told NBC News in January 2019. “For people to now accuse him of things, they’re just haters trying to ruin his career.”
Later that month, a source confirmed to NBC News that Sony Music was no longer working with Kelly.
February 2019
In February 2019, Kelly was charged in Illinois’ Cook County with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, with nine of those counts involving a minor between 13 to 16 years old. Hours later, he turned himself into authorities.
Days after being charged, he pleaded not guilty. The Grammy winner was released from custody that afternoon after the required 10 percent of his $1 million bond was posted.
March 2019
Kelly was taken into custody in March 2019 over unpaid child support. The Cook County Sheriff’s office told NBC News at the time the “I Believe I Can Fly” singer owed more than $161,000 to his ex-wife Andrea Kelly, who is mother to his three children and has accused him of abuse (he’s denied the abuse allegations).
Kelly was released days later, with the Cook County Sheriff’s chief policy officer telling the Associated Press someone who wished to remain anonymous paid the amount he owed.
Around this time, CBS News aired an interview Kelly did with Gayle King in which he addressed allegations against him. He denied accusations presented in Surviving R. Kelly and insisted he never had sex with an underage girl. As for the cult accusation, the musician said, “I don’t even really know what a cult, is but I know I don’t have one.”
Ultimately, Kelly denied any allegations of abuse.
“I love women,” he said. “I love all women, but these stories, they’re not true.”
During the interview, Kelly became emotional.
“I didn’t do this stuff. This is not me. I’m fighting for my f–king life. You all killing me with this s–t,” he exclaimed before standing up from his seat. “I gave y’all 30 years of my f–cking career.”
May 2019
In May 2019, Kelly faced 11 new charges. According to court records obtained by NBC News, these included four counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, two counts of criminal sexual assault by force, and five counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse (with three of those five involving minors between 13 and 16 years old).
Kelly appeared in Illinois’ Cook County and pleaded not guilty.
“#RKelly was NOT charged with a new case,” his attorney Greenberg tweeted at the time. “He was recharged in an existing case, same alleged victim and time (a decade ago) It changes nothing.”
July 2019
In July 2019, Kelly was arrested in Chicago for federal charges outlined in a 13-count indictment, including charges of child pornography, enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity and obstruction of justice.
The same day that indictment was unsealed, a separate five-count indictment was revealed to a federal court in Brooklyn, New York, which included one count of racketeering as well as four counts of violating the Mann Act in terms of transporting a victim across state lines to New York to engage in illegal sexual activity.
According to NBC News, Kelly pleaded not guilty to the charges in the Illinois indictment days later and a judge ordered him to be held without bond.
August 2019
Kelly pleaded not guilty to the charges from the New York indictment in August 2019 and was denied bail.
But days later, he was at the center of another legal battle in Minnesota and charged with two counts of prostitution involving a minor, according to court documents obtained by NBC News.
“Re: New charges @RKelly give me a break,” his then-attorneyGreenberg tweeted at the time. “This is beyond absurd.”
December 2019
In a superseding indictment filed in New York in Decemeber 2019, prosecutors continued to charge Kelly with one count of racketeering as well as four counts of violating the Mann Act. However, a new accusation of bribery was included under the racketeering charge.
In the court documents obtained by NBC News, Kelly was accused of bribing a public officer in 1994 to get a fake ID for an individual referred to as “Jane Doe #1.” Multiple news organizations like The New York Times, the AP and NBC News—citing a person familiar with the matter—reported that Jane Doe #1 was Aaliyah.
In its December 1994/January 1995 issue, VIBE Magazine published images of a wedding license for a then 27-old Kelly and a then-15-year-old Aaliyah (though her age was listed as 18 on the certificate). The marriage was later annulled. Aaliyah died in a plane crash in August 2001.
Though often asked about their relationship, Kelly wouldn’t discuss its extent.
“Because of Aaliyah’s passing, as I’ve always said, out of respect for her mother who’s sick and her father who’s passed, I will never have that conversation with anyone,” he told GQ in 2016. “Out of respect for Aaliyah, and her mother and father who has asked me not to personally. But I can tell you I loved her, I can tell you she loved me, we was very close. We were, you know, best best best best friends.”
Kelly pleaded not guilty to the New York superseding indictment charges.
February – March 2020
In February 2020, Illinois prosecutors updated their federal indictment against Kelly.
While the superseding indictment still featured 13 counts, according to CNN, it alleged Kelly abused a sixth minor in addition to the five cited in the original indicment filed in July 2019.
“The allegations seem to be more of the same old, same old. And just like with the past allegations we dispute them,” Greenberg told the outlet. “We look forward to Robert’s day in court, to his trial and to the day that he can walk free.”
New York prosecutors also updated their indictment in March 2020. While Kelly was charged with five counts in the original indictment, this new one obtained by NBC News included nine counts, including for racketeering and violations of the Mann Act in regards to the coercion and transportation of women and girls across state lines for illegal sexual activities.
His attorney, again, denied the allegations.
“Having now had the opportunity to review the latest superseding indictment against @rkelly,” Greenberg tweeted, “we do not believe it fundamentally changes anything.”
Kelly pleaded not guilty to both of the indictments’ charges.
August – September 2021
After delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Kelly parting ways with his New York attorneys, his trial in Brooklyn began in August 2021. Six weeks later, a federal jury found him guilty of all nine counts of racketeering and violations of the Mann Act.
“Today’s guilty verdict forever brands R. Kelly as a predator, who used his fame and fortune to prey on the young, the vulnerable, and the voiceless for his own sexual gratification,” Jacquelyn Kasulis, then Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a September 2021 statement following the verdict. “A predator who used his inner circle to ensnare underage teenage girls, and young women and men, for decades, in a sordid web of sex abuse, exploitation and degradation. To the victims in this case, your voices were heard, and justice was finally served. We hope that today’s verdict brings some measure of comfort and closure to the victims.”
Kelly’s former attorney also reacted to the news.
“We are extraordinarily disappointed in the verdict [that] was returned by the New York jury today,” Greenberg said. “Mike Leonard and myself believe that the verdict was not supported by the evidence and instead is a reflection of the hysteria whipped up by a couple of TV shows. We intend to continue to fight on R. Kelly’s behalf to ensure that everything is being done that can possibly be done.”
June 2022
After being found guilty in his New York case, Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
August – September 2022
Four weeks after Kelly’s Chicago trial started in mid-August, a federal jury found him guilty of six of the 13 counts: Three counts of producing child pornography and three counts of enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity. He was acquitted of the remaining seven: One count of child pornography, one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, one count of conspiracy to receive child pornography, two counts of receiving child pornography, and two counts of enticing a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity.
“The guilty verdicts finally hold Robert Kelly accountable for the sexual abuse of a 14-year-old girl, and they help right the wrongs that occurred in a prior prosecution in Cook County,” John R. Lausch, Jr., then U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, said in a September 2022 statement. “The damage Mr. Kelly inflicted on his victims is immeasurable. I want to thank the victims for their strength, perseverance, and courage in coming forward to testify at trial.”
“With regard to the not-guilty verdicts, we respect the jury’s decision,” he continued. “While certain aspects of the charges and the trial made it difficult to obtain convictions for all of the charged conduct, it is clear that justice has been served by the guilty verdicts returned today.”
As for the reaction from Kelly’s legal team?
“We’re not celebrating a win entirely,” his attorney Jennifer Bonjean said, per NBC 5 Chicago, “but we are happy that the jury really did look at each count.”
January 2023
Four years after state charges of aggravated criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse were brought against Kelly in Cook County, Illinois, it was announced that the case would be dropped.
“I understand how hard it was for these victims to come forward and tell their stories. I applaud their courage and have the utmost respect for everyone who came forward,” Kim Foxx, then Cook County State’s Attorney, said in a statement obtained by NBC News in January 2023. “While this may not be the result they were expecting, due to the sentences that Mr. Kelly is facing, we do feel that justice has been served. My office will direct our resources to find justice for other victims of sexual abuse who do not have the power of a documentary to bring their abusers to light.”
According to the Chicago Tribune, Kelly’s attorney Bonjean told reporters she was “pleased [with] what I consider to be a very sound use of prosecutorial discretion.”
“To proceed with these charges was unnecessary,” she reportedly added. “It was very much a piling on. Mr. Kelly is only one man with one life, so he’s already facing decades in prison. I can’t imagine this is a good use of the prosecutors’ time, the judge’s time or the taxpayers’ money.”
However, this did not change anything regarding Kelly’s federal convictions in Chicago and New York.
February 2023
For the federal counts Kelly was found guilty of in Chicago, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison in February 2023, with 19 of those years running concurrently to his New York sentence.
May 2023
The charges in Kelly’s Minnesota case were also dropped.
“Despite our belief in the victim survivor, we have decided to dismiss this case in light of the federal convictions of Mr. Kelly for which he received lengthy federal prison sentences and will likely spend the rest of his life in prison,” the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said in a May 2023 statement. “The overwhelming impact of proceeding to trial in this case on the survivor victim, the community, and the Hennepin County legal system would be enormous while a conviction would not add any additional time in prison.”
Kelly’s legal team also reacted to the news.
“It’s the right result for a number of reasons, and Hennepin County prosecutors showed appropriate discretion,” Bonjean said in a statement obtained by CNN. “We were ready to defend the case but are pleased we don’t have to.”
June 2025
In June 2025, a judge denied a series of defense motions for Kelly to be moved from federal prison in Butner, N.C., to home detention, according to NBC News.
The news came days after Kelly’s lawyer Beau B. Brindley alleged in a filing that the musician had been hospitalized that month due to an overdose of medications from prison officials.
In the filing obtained by NBC News, Brindley said prison officials overdosed Kelly days after his legal team publicly accused officials of soliciting another inmate to kill him. Brindley also alleged in the docs the officials took Kelly “out of a hospital at gunpoint and denied him surgery on blood clots in his lungs that the hospital said needed immediate intervention.”
“These people did overdose him,” the filing later stated. “They did leave him with blood clots in his lungs and remove him from a hospital that sought to do surgery to remove them. And they did it within days of his exposure of a plan to kill him set forth by Bureau of Prisons officials.”
When contacted by E! News, the FCI facility in Butner noted that, “for privacy, safety, and security reasons, we do not discuss the conditions of confinement for any incarcerated individual, including medical and health-related issues.” However, according to court filings obtained by NBC News, prosecutors called Kelly’s motion and the accusations “deeply unserious and theatrical” as well as “repugnant to the sentence that this Court imposed for deeply disturbing offenses.”
(E! and NBC News are both part of the NBCUniversal family).
