R. Kelly is denied motions for acquittal and new federal trial

Singer and convicted sex offender R. Kelly has been denied all motions for acquittal and a new federal trial, Chicago Federal Judge Harry Leinenweber ruled on Thursday. 

Kelly, 56, was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2022 on nine counts that included “sexual exploitation of children” and “transportation of women and girls in interstate commerce to engage in illegal sexual activity.” He was convicted of three child pornography charges and three counts of child enticement in Chicago last year.

The disgraced singer’s attorneys filed the motion for a new trial on Feb. 4, stating that the main witness in the trial misled jurors when she said she was undecided on whether she would be seeking monetary damages from the case. The motion was denied less than two weeks later. 

The anonymous star witness, known only as “Jane,” testified that Kelly began sexually abusing her when she was just 14 years old, even filming their encounters. 

“Simply because Jane and her attorney considered the possibility of restitution does not mean she lied during her testimony,” wrote Leinenweber. “Jane’s testimony was that she was undecided. Her testimony was not that she was not intending to pursue restitution.”

Kelly’s Feb. 23 sentencing will proceed as scheduled over the September 2002 convictions of child pornography and sexual enticement.