U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear appeal from singer R. Kelly, convicted of child sex crimes

R. Kelly, centre, leaves the Daley Center after a hearing in his child support case, May 8, 2019, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Matt Marton, File)

WASHINGTON — Warning: This article contains disturbing content.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal Monday from the singer R. Kelly, who is now serving 20 years in prison after being convicted of child sex convictions in Chicago.

The Grammy Award-winning R&B singer, born Robert Sylvester Kelly, was found guilty in 2022 of three charges of producing child sexual abuse images and three charges of enticement of minors for sex.

His lawyers argued that a shorter statute of limitations on child sex crime prosecutions should have applied to offenses dating back to the 1990s. Current law permits charges while an accuser is still alive.

The justices did not detail their reasoning in declining to hear the case, as is typical. And none publicly dissented. Lower courts previously rejected his arguments.

Federal prosecutors have said the video showed Kelly abusing a girl. The accuser identified only as Jane testified that she was 14 when the video was taken.

Kelly has also appealed a separate 30-year sentence for federal racketeering and sex trafficking convictions in New York.