Where Is R. Kelly Now? Updates on His Sentencing & More

R. Kelly’s criminal history includes child pornography, sexual abuse and more. Learn about his prison sentencing and his case.

R. Kelly‘s lengthy criminal history and accusations date back to the early 1990s. Throughout the early 2000s, he faced sexual abuse allegations until he was eventually convicted of child pornography in 2022. Although Kelly vowed he’d appeal his decades-long prison sentencing, the former record producer’s appeal was denied in 2024.

Learn more about R. Kelly’s case and get updates on where he is below.

What Did R. Kelly Do?

Although most of Kelly’s accusations date back to the early 1990s, a leaked recording of his alleged sexual encounter with a minor didn’t surface until 2002. The recording showed Kelly and an unidentified teenager, who was a minor at the time. After he was indicted on child pornography charges, he pleaded not guilty. His trial began in 2008, and Kelly was acquitted.

Over the following decade, multiple women came forward with startling accusations against the former singer-songwriter. In 2019, Kelly was charged with 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse. He denied all charges against him, and his legal team entered not guilty pleas.  Nevertheless, he was indicted by a federal grand jury that year on charges including child pornography, enticement of a minor and obstruction of justice, per the Associated Press.

Kelly’s federal trial began in 2021 in New York. He was convicted of violating the Mann Act — an anti-sex trafficking law that prohibits a person from taking anyone across state lines “for any immoral purpose,” per the outlet.

R. Kelly’s Prison Sentencing

In 2022, Kelly was sentenced to 30 years behind bars in New York. Later that year, a jury in Chicago convicted him of three child pornography counts and three counts of the enticement of a child. The jury acquitted him, however, on the following: a fourth pornography count, a conspiracy to obstruct justice charge in connected to his 2008 trial, three counts of conspiring to receive child pornography and two additional enticement charges.

In 2023, a federal Chicago judge sentenced Kelly to 20 years in prison for child pornography and enticement of a minor charges. He was reportedly ordered to serve prison time for all but one of those simultaneously with his separate 30-year prison sentencing, which was for racketeering and sex trafficking convictions in New York. In 2024, an appeals court in Chicago upheld his 20-year prison sentence for his child sex convictions.

Is R. Kelly in Prison?

As of April 2023, Kelly has been at FCI Butner, North Carolina, per the AP. He was initially at the Metropolitan Correctional Center Chicago.

When Is R. Kelly’s Release Date From Prison?

According to the Chicago-Sun Times, Kelly is currently expected to be released from prison in 2045.