R. Kelly is reportedly petitioning the United States Supreme Court to get his sex crime convictions tossed out.
According to a TMZ report published Tuesday (July 30), the disgraced singer’s attorney argues that because the alleged incidents occurred decades ago, the statute of limitations applies despite the introduction of the PROTECT Act in 2003.
During his trial, R. Kelly argued the statute of limitations applied to his charges of possessing child pornography and engaging in sexual acts with underage girls. The incidents were alleged to have taken place in the 1990s.
However, prosecutors argued for the application of the PROTECT Act, which removed statutes of limitations for abduction and abuse cases involving children.
The outlet reports Kelly’s attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, is now claiming that the acts Kelly was convicted of allegedly occurred before the PROTECT Act was in place, so the Act doesn’t apply to his charges.
R. Kelly has been convicted of sex crimes charges in multiple states. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison in a Chicago federal court last year. Additionally, in 2021, he was hit with 30 years for child sex crimes and racketeering in New York.
Earlier this year, an appellate court upheld R. Kelly’s conviction for child pornography and child enticement charges in Chicago. The court also denied his request for a new sentencing hearing.
Kelly is appealing his New York conviction. He remains behind bars at a federal correctional center in North Carolina.