Lawyer Jennifer Bonjean demands that the US Supreme Court overturn singer R. Kelly’s sentence for sexual crimes: details
31 july 2024 в 23:28
Attorney Jennifer Bonjean, the attorney for disgraced singer R. Kelly, has appealed to the US Supreme Court to overturn his federal convictions for sexual crimes, including possession of child pornography and coercion of minors into sex.
R. Kelly, whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in Chicago in February 2023 on charges of producing child pornography and engaging minors in sexual activity. Last year, in June 2022, the 57-year-old singer was sentenced to 30 years in prison on charges of racketeering and sex trafficking in New York. However, 19 years from the two sentences will be served concurrently, and he is expected to be released in 2045.
However, on Thursday, July 25, his lawyer argued in a petition that Kelly’s alleged actions were related to his behavior in the 1990s and early 2000s, and that last year’s charges were supposedly barred by the statute of limitations.
Before 2003, the statute of limitations excluded the possibility of prosecution after 25 years from the victim’s 18th birthday. But that year, the law was changed to allow prosecution for the entire life of the victim.
In 2020, Kelly was first charged with possession of child pornography and engaging in sexual acts with underage girls, starting in the mid to late 1990s. By that time, the victims had not yet reached 25 years old, but they had by the time Kelly was charged.
Prosecutors refuted her argument, citing the 2003 PROTECT Act, which stated that there is no statute of limitations for sexual crimes against children.
In Bonjean’s petition, she claimed that while Kelly is serving time for his crimes from the 1990s, the statute of limitations does not apply to him because the PROTECT Act was enacted in the early 2000s. She wrote that Congress did not explicitly include a provision that this law would also apply to crimes committed before 2003.
«As Congress did not explicitly state that the PROTECT Act should apply retroactively and even rejected a version of the bill that included retroactivity, the PROTECT Act did not extend the statute of limitations, and the Defendant was convicted of crimes that had expired by the statute of limitations», - the petition stated.
This issue is crucial, according to the federal appeals court, which rejected Kelly’s request, leading to his appeal to the Supreme Court. «As a threshold matter, it is not unconstitutional to apply a new statute of limitations to old conduct when the defendant was subject to prosecution at the time of the change, as Kelly was in 2003», - said the 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals in April.
The recent appeal follows his current appeal in the 2021 New York case. The first appeal claimed that Kelly was unfairly charged with violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act for leading a group of people who recruited women and girls for illegal sexual activity and child pornography, according to the Associated Press.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual violence, it is not your fault. You are not alone. Help is available 24/7 through the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1−800−656-HOPE or visit the Online Hotline.
And if you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text the Child Help hotline at 1−800−422−4453
R. Kelly, whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in Chicago in February 2023 on charges of producing child pornography and engaging minors in sexual activity. Last year, in June 2022, the 57-year-old singer was sentenced to 30 years in prison on charges of racketeering and sex trafficking in New York. However, 19 years from the two sentences will be served concurrently, and he is expected to be released in 2045.
However, on Thursday, July 25, his lawyer argued in a petition that Kelly’s alleged actions were related to his behavior in the 1990s and early 2000s, and that last year’s charges were supposedly barred by the statute of limitations.
Before 2003, the statute of limitations excluded the possibility of prosecution after 25 years from the victim’s 18th birthday. But that year, the law was changed to allow prosecution for the entire life of the victim.
In 2020, Kelly was first charged with possession of child pornography and engaging in sexual acts with underage girls, starting in the mid to late 1990s. By that time, the victims had not yet reached 25 years old, but they had by the time Kelly was charged.
Prosecutors refuted her argument, citing the 2003 PROTECT Act, which stated that there is no statute of limitations for sexual crimes against children.
In Bonjean’s petition, she claimed that while Kelly is serving time for his crimes from the 1990s, the statute of limitations does not apply to him because the PROTECT Act was enacted in the early 2000s. She wrote that Congress did not explicitly include a provision that this law would also apply to crimes committed before 2003.
«As Congress did not explicitly state that the PROTECT Act should apply retroactively and even rejected a version of the bill that included retroactivity, the PROTECT Act did not extend the statute of limitations, and the Defendant was convicted of crimes that had expired by the statute of limitations», - the petition stated.
This issue is crucial, according to the federal appeals court, which rejected Kelly’s request, leading to his appeal to the Supreme Court. «As a threshold matter, it is not unconstitutional to apply a new statute of limitations to old conduct when the defendant was subject to prosecution at the time of the change, as Kelly was in 2003», - said the 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals in April.
The recent appeal follows his current appeal in the 2021 New York case. The first appeal claimed that Kelly was unfairly charged with violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act for leading a group of people who recruited women and girls for illegal sexual activity and child pornography, according to the Associated Press.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual violence, it is not your fault. You are not alone. Help is available 24/7 through the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1−800−656-HOPE or visit the Online Hotline.
And if you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text the Child Help hotline at 1−800−422−4453
© Artemenko Olga
