Wikipedia (en)
Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and sex offender convicted of racketeering and multiple sex offenses.During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwide, making him the most commercially successful male R&B artist of the 1990s and one of the world's best-selling music artists. He won three Grammys for his song "I Believe I Can Fly", and was also nominated for his song "You Are Not Alone" recorded by Michael Jackson. Critics dubbed him "the King of R&B" while he billed himself the "Pied Piper of R&B".Starting in the 1990s, journalists and alleged victims of Kelly accused him of sexually abusing young fans, including minors, and luring them into inappropriate sexual relationships. The Cook County State's Attorney indicted Kelly in 2002 on child pornography charges, but failed to convict in a resulting 2008 trial. Kelly evaded lasting consequences until the 2019 documentary television series Surviving R. Kelly re-examined accusations of Kelly's sexual misconduct with minors. Backlash led RCA Records to terminate their contract with Kelly. Law enforcement in New York, Chicago, and Minneapolis pursued new criminal cases against Kelly following the documentary. Kelly was arrested on federal charges in July 2019. Denied bail, Kelly has been a federal prisoner since.
A 2021 trial in Brooklyn federal court convicted Kelly for violations of the Mann Act and racketeering. A 2022 trial in Chicago federal court convicted Kelly for three child pornography charges and three charges of enticing a minor, but acquitted him of charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice in relation to his 2008 trial. The Brooklyn court sentenced Kelly to 30 years imprisonment; his sentencing in Chicago court is slated for February 2023. As of September 2022, Kelly is an inmate of Metropolitan Correctional Center, Chicago. He continues to challenge his two convictions.
