On October 7, convicted sex offender Robert ‘R. Kelly’ Sylvester Kelly’s latest attempt to dodge accountability for his crimes was thwarted when the U.S. Supreme Court denied his appeal without comment.
In his petition to the U.S. Supreme Court, Kelly raised a statute of limitations argument in an attempt to overturn his Illinois conviction and 20 year sentence for producing and receiving child pornography and enticing minors to engage in criminal sexual activity. Kelly engaged in this conduct during the 1990s and early 2000s, but was tried and ultimately found guilty in 2022.
Kelly argued that these charges should have been barred because of a previous federal law that required that charges be brought before the victim turns 25 years old. This law was later amended in 2003 to allow charges for child sexual abuse to be brought forth at any time during the victim’s life. Despite this amendment, Kelly argued that he was wrongly prosecuted retroactively because the conduct occurred prior to the amendment and at the time Kelly was charged in 2019, his victims were over the age of 25.
Kelly’s argument fell flat in front of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last April. The Court denied Kelly’s appeal and commented, “It is not unconstitutional to apply a newer statute of limitations to old conduct when the defendant was subject to prosecution at the time of the change.” The U.S. Supreme Court, apparently agreeing with the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, denied Kelly’s 67-page petition on Monday and declined to comment on the matter.
Kelly also currently has a pending appeal in a separate New York case in which he was convicted of racketeering and sex trafficking. Kelly is currently serving 30 years for those convictions, most of which will run concurrent to the time he is serving for his newly upheld Illinois convictions. Kelly, now 57, is scheduled for release in 2045 and is currently housed in FCI Butner Medium I, a medium security men’s prison in Granville County, North Carolina.
The CSE Institute commends the bravery of the survivors who spoke out against Kelly in these cases. Their courage can act as a light to inspire others in similar situations to speak out as well, even if their abusers are rich or famous. Their decision to take a stand says to others: It does not matter if he is popular. It does not matter if he has resources. It does not matter if he is powerful. He has no right to abuse and exploit and he should be held to account if he does so.
The CSE Institute also commends the law enforcement officials who worked hard to bring the charges against Kelly in both cases to ensure that he would answer for his crimes. Their diligent work took a dangerous predator off the streets and sends the message that sexual abusers and traffickers cannot act with impunity in our country, no matter how much they believe they are entitled to do so.
Lastly, the CSE Institute applauds the U.S. Supreme Court for their decision to reject Kelly’s appeal. The 2003 change to the statute of limitations was a big step forward for survivors of sexual abuse. This law allows survivors to come forward about abuse when they’re ready, rather than confine them to an arbitrary timeline that only allows them to pursue justice if they are ready before the age of 25.
The CSE Institute will continue to provide updates as they become available.
All views expressed herein are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law or of Villanova University.