Chicago-born singer, Robert Sylvester Kelly, a.k.a. R. Kelly, is not pleased with his incarceration and he is doing all he can to get his freedom.
To overturn his 2021 conviction and 30-year prison sentence, R. Kelly has filed an appeal, challenging the racketeering charges that formed the crux of his case.
According to AP, the appeal seeks to reverse the embattled singer’s sentence or give him a fresh trial.
On Monday, March 18, 2024, R. Kelly’s lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, argued before three judges at the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan, contending that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to substantiate a RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) enterprise.
Bonjean vehemently disputed the prosecution’s portrayal of R. Kelly’s inner circle as a criminal enterprise dedicated to recruiting and sexually abusing underage girls.
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“This was not a collection of people who had a purpose to recruit girls for sexual abuse or child pornography,” she argued.
Bonjean further cautioned that upholding the RICO charges in R. Kelly’s case could set a dangerous precedent, potentially ensnaring organizations as diverse as fraternities and other groups where members may have turned a blind eye to questionable activities.
“Whether they turned a blind eye, whether some of them suspected that some of these girls were underage, that’s a whole different matter,” Bonjean contended. “And once we get into that sort of territory, where we’re going to say that constitutes a RICO enterprise, well we have a lot of organizations — we have a lot of frat houses — we have all types of organizations that are now going to become RICO enterprises.”
As of Monday, the three-judge panel had not ruled on whether to deny or grant Kelly’s appeal, leaving the disgraced singer’s fate in limbo.
R. Kelly fights back $10.5m trial loss from prison
Meanwhile, R. Kelly lost a $10.5 million lawsuit from his attempt to stop a Surviving R. Kelly screening years back. But the singer says he never even knew about the suit to be able to fight it.
Six women sued both Kelly and his former manager, Donnell Russell, for making terroristic threats to shut down the documentary screening back in September 2018. In August 2023, the women won the suit for a joint total of $10.5million.
But R. Kelly said he’s been sued so many times as of late that it’s nearly impossible to keep up with everything – especially from behind bars. He also claims he’s since changed legal teams and that the suit must have fallen through the cracks in the changeover.
