Supreme Court Rejects R. Kelly’s Last-Ditch Appeal in Federal Sex Crimes Case

In a not-so-shocking twist, the Supreme Court has shut down R. Kelly’s attempt to overturn his federal sex crimes convictions, refusing to review his petition that highlighted a statute of limitations argument.

Despite an earlier rejection by a federal appeals court, the “I Believe I Can Fly” singer hoped the nation’s highest court might consider his claim.  However, the justices denied the petition without further commentary, signaling the swift dismissal of his appeal following a government decision not to engage in the matter.

Kelly, currently serving a 20-year sentence in Chicago for producing child pornography and enticing minors, also faces a 30-year sentence from a New York conviction, though 19 years of those sentences will run concurrently. This leaves the 57-year-old R&B star scheduled for release in 2045.

At the heart of Kelly’s appeal was an argument about timing. He contended that the federal government improperly prosecuted him under a revised statute of limitations that did not exist when his alleged crimes occurred. Prior to 2003, such cases couldn’t be brought after the victim’s 25th birthday. The law was amended that year, however, to extend prosecution throughout the victim’s lifetime. Kelly’s alleged victims were still under 25 in 2003 but had passed that age by the time charges were filed.

The timing is key, as the federal appeals court noted when rejecting his appeal, leading to this final refusal by the Supreme Court. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled earlier that applying a newer statute of limitations wasn’t unconstitutional since Kelly was already subject to prosecution when the law changed in 2003.

Now, with both federal courts having rebuffed his argument, R. Kelly remains incarcerated, facing decades behind bars.