R. Kelly has appealed his September 2021 conviction for racketeering and sex trafficking, with his attorneys alleging juror bias and inadmissible evidence presented during the trial.
The appeal states that four jurors involved in the case have since admitted to having decided his guilt before the official verdict was made, and that at least two of them watched the 2019 Lifetime docuseries Surviving R. Kelly.
As reported by TMZ, Kelly's team also claims that some of the girls Kelly was accused of abusing were 18 years old when their sexual relationships with Kelly began, and that evidence related to previous relationships and testimony from former employees should not have been admissible in court. Kelly is seeking a reversal of his conviction or a new trial.
Last June, Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison after the September 2021 conviction in federal court in Brooklyn, NY. He was also sentenced to 20 years in prison in a separate federal child pornography case in Chicago, 19 of which will be served concurrently with his 30-year sentence in New York.
Earlier this year, Cook County attorney general Kim Foxx dropped four sex abuse charges against Kelly, citing the singer's already decades-long sentence and arguing that her office should focus its resources on the hundreds of pending cases in Cook County's sexual assault and domestic violence division.
As it currently stands, Kelly will be in prison until his late 80s.
The appeal states that four jurors involved in the case have since admitted to having decided his guilt before the official verdict was made, and that at least two of them watched the 2019 Lifetime docuseries Surviving R. Kelly.
As reported by TMZ, Kelly's team also claims that some of the girls Kelly was accused of abusing were 18 years old when their sexual relationships with Kelly began, and that evidence related to previous relationships and testimony from former employees should not have been admissible in court. Kelly is seeking a reversal of his conviction or a new trial.
Last June, Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison after the September 2021 conviction in federal court in Brooklyn, NY. He was also sentenced to 20 years in prison in a separate federal child pornography case in Chicago, 19 of which will be served concurrently with his 30-year sentence in New York.
Earlier this year, Cook County attorney general Kim Foxx dropped four sex abuse charges against Kelly, citing the singer's already decades-long sentence and arguing that her office should focus its resources on the hundreds of pending cases in Cook County's sexual assault and domestic violence division.
As it currently stands, Kelly will be in prison until his late 80s.
