Disgraced music superstar R. Kelly was dealt a legal blow on Wednesday after an appeals court in New York denied the singer's challenge to his 30-year-prison sentence and conviction on racketeering and sex trafficking charges.
The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the R&B singer's original sentence and conviction stemming from a 2021 trial that found him guilty on nine counts of sex trafficking and racketeering. The charges were based on an argument that the entourage of managers and aides who helped Kelly meet girls — and keep them obedient and quiet — amounted to a criminal enterprise.