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Singer, R. Kelly, who is currently serving a 30 year prison sentence for sex trafficking and racketeering has received more news concerning his case. The Manhattan 2 nd U.S circuit court of Appeals upheld the RnB singer’s sex trafficking and racketeering conviction. Kelly had previously filed an appeal noting that prosecutors failed to prove that he recruited women and underage girls for sex in a racketeering scheme and violated them.
Kelly’s attorneys argued that he did not operate a racketeering enterprise because his employees were unaware of the ages of his young victims and therefore lacked any criminal intent. The circuit court of appeals has however rejected their argument and maintained that the singer is guilty.
“The record is replete with evidence that Kelly was able to commit the predicate acts because he was the head of a close – knit group of associates and he controlled the affairs of the enterprise,” Judge Denny Chin wrote, explaining the three panel’s decision. “For instance, members of Kelly’s entourage participated directly in a predicate act when they devised a plan for Kelly to marry Aaliyah when she was underage.”
Denny Chin, went ahead to claim there was “extensive evidence showing how Kelly ensnared young girls and women into his orbit, endeavored to control their lives and secured their compliance with his personal and sexual demands through verbal and physical abuse, threats of blackmail and humiliation.”
R. Kelly’s lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean claims they might take their appeal to the U.S supreme court. She believes that the RICO act is being stretched outside of it’s intended use. The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. Bonjean argues that the statute wasn't intended to punish organized crimes and not individual conduct.
