R Kelly’s appeal to have his sex trafficking conviction overturned has been denied by a judge in the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan.
The disgraced musician, who was jailed for at least 30 years in 2023 for racketeering and sex trafficking, had sought to have his conviction overturned but was unsuccessful.
The courts heard how R Kelly had used his fame for more than 25 years to exploit girls and young women, with the judges noting that he had coerced his victims into agreeing to his sexual demands.
Circuit Judge Denny Chin explained that prosecutors had provided, “extensive evidence showing how R Kelly ensnared young girls and women into his orbit, endeavoured to control their lives, and secured their compliance with his personal and sexual demands through verbal and physical abuse, threats of blackmail, and humiliation.”
Despite this ruling, R Kelly’s lawyer has indicated that the musician will appeal again, arguing that the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) was not properly applied in his case.
The lawyer argued the latest decision, per Reuters, “gives the government limitless discretion to apply the RICO statute to situations absurdly remote from the statute’s intent… The statute was intended to punish organised crime, not individual conduct.”
