July 31st 2024.
On July 30, R. Kelly, a well-known recording artist, took a step towards fighting his prison sentence by having his lawyer file an appeal with the Supreme Court. This appeal is specifically for the federal sex crimes that he was convicted of and currently imprisoned for. According to CNN, Kelly's defense attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, is requesting that his Chicago conviction for possession of child pornography and enticing minors to engage in sexual activity be overturned due to the statute of limitations.
Kelly is currently serving a 30-year sentence in North Carolina after being found guilty of sex trafficking in a separate New York case in 2021. In addition, he was also convicted in Chicago in 2023 and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Currently, he is appealing the conviction he received in New York. Bonjean argues that R. Kelly was unfairly prosecuted under the PROTECT Act, which was passed in 2003, and expanded the statute of limitations for sex crimes with minors. However, she points out that the crime for which he was convicted took place in the 1990s, before the law was passed.
In their petition, Bonjean states, "Defendant's charges were time-barred," and explains that because Congress did not explicitly state that the PROTECT Act should be applied retroactively, it did not extend the statute of limitations. She also notes that a version of the bill that included a retroactive provision was rejected. This, she argues, proves that Kelly's offenses were time-barred.
Kelly had previously appealed his Chicago sentence, but it was rejected earlier this year by a federal appeals court in Chicago. The same argument that Bonjean is making now was used in this appeal, but it was still denied. Despite this setback, Bonjean has a track record of success with appeals, most notably winning a reprieve for comedian Bill Cosby in 2021. She was able to do so by arguing a legal technicality. Bonjean is also currently representing entertainment executive Harvey Weinstein in his appeal in Los Angeles.
The appeal filed by Bonjean for R. Kelly is just the latest development in a string of legal battles for the singer. He has faced numerous accusations of sexual misconduct and abuse over the years, leading to multiple trials and convictions. As the legal process continues, the fate of Kelly's prison sentence remains uncertain.
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