R. Kelly Appeals to Supreme Court Over Child Sex Crimes Conviction

R. Kelly has taken his fight to the highest court in the land, seeking to overturn his 2023 conviction on child sex crimes. On July 30, Kelly's legal team filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the federal PROTECT Act of 2003, under which he was prosecuted, should not apply to his case.

Kelly, who was convicted in 2022 for crimes including creating child pornography and coercing minors, contends that the PROTECT Act—designed to extend the statute of limitations for prosecuting child sex abusers—was enacted after the alleged offenses took place in the 1990s. His lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, argues that applying the law retroactively violates legal principles and was not Congress's intent.

This appeal follows an earlier defeat at the federal appeals court in Northern Illinois, which upheld the use of the PROTECT Act in Kelly’s case, citing that the victims are still alive and asserting that retroactive application is not unconstitutional.

Kelly, who is already serving a 20-year sentence for the Illinois conviction, faces additional legal battles. He was convicted on nine counts in New York in 2021 and is currently appealing those charges, claiming unfair prosecution under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).

The Supreme Court’s decision on whether to hear Kelly’s case is pending, and historically, the majority of such petitions are denied.