Despite allegations of sexual misconduct dating back more than three decades, R. Kelly was not charged for his actions until September, when he was found guilty by federal court in New York of recruiting women and underage girls and boys for sex. .
This is what happened on the road to his conviction.
Dec 1996† The first account of sex with an underage girl emerges.
Tiffany Hawkins, a Chicago woman, claimed she had sex with Mr. Kelly in 1991, when she was 15 and he 24, according to a lawsuit she filed five years after meeting. The suit was later settled for $250,000.
August 1994† R. Kelly illegally marries singer Aaliyah, who was 15 at the time†
A former manager testified at the trial that Mr. Kelly, who was 27 at the time of the ceremony, had feared that Aaliyah was pregnant, and that Mr. Kelly had tried to avoid prosecution for legal rape by marrying her. The ex-manager said he had to bribe an Illinois government employee to get Aaliyah a fake ID showing she was 18.
Dec 21, 2000† The Chicago Sun-Times publishes a report on allegations against Mr. Kelly.
Jim DeRogatis, a reporter for the Chicago newspaper, and a colleague wrote that Mr. Kelly had “used his position of fame and influence as a pop superstar to meet and have sex with girls as young as 15.”
June 2002† R. Kelly has been arrested on child pornography charges.
Kelly was taken into custody in Florida after a grand jury in Chicago filed a 21-point indictment. The case revolved around a 27-minute sex tape that prosecutors said had sex with a minor. Five months after Mr. DeRogatis had received the tape anonymously in his mailbox and reported it, he was charged.
June 2008† R. Kelly acquitted in Chicago case.
Jurors said they began to have doubts after the girl at the center of the case refused to testify. Some Chicagoans were frustrated by the time it had taken to bring him to trial. Defense attorneys had filed “so many requests that they delayed the start of the trial for six years,” The New York Times reported.
Summer 2017: The #MuteRKelly campaign gains momentum as new allegations surface.
That summer, a grassroots social media campaign sprang up to urge the public to stop supporting Mr. Kelly and his presence on the radio and in other locations. Within a year, several of his concerts were canceled and Time’s Up, the prominent anti-harassment charity, released an open letter asking companies associated with the singer to end it.
Dec 2019† The Lifetime Documentary “Surviving R. Kelly” Is Released, Leading To New Waves Of Attention†
The six-part series received massive attention on social media and sparked more legal investigation from Mr. kelly. After the release, prosecutors in Chicago and Atlanta asked potential victims or witnesses to share information about their experiences.
February 22, 2019: Mr. Kelly is indicted in Chicago on 10 counts of sexual assault.
Kelly was charged with serious criminal sexual abuse involving four victims, including three who were between the ages of 13 and 16 at the time of the alleged abuse.
July 12, 2019: He is also indicted in Brooklyn.
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn charged the singer with racketeering and other crimes. The case led to his conviction.
June 29, 2022: R. Kelly is sentenced to 30 years in prison in Brooklyn.
mr. Kelly will now likely spend the rest of his life behind bars. Federal prosecutors had asked the judge for a sentence of “more than 25 years”, while Mr Kelly’s lawyers had hoped for a 10-year term.