How long has R Kelly been in prison? All about the disgraced singer's sentence

It has been over two years since R. Kelly has been in prison. The singer-songwriter and record producer from Chicago had a criminal history dating back to the 90s. However, as of 2025, he has to serve a 31-year combined sentence at the Federal Correctional Complex in Butner, North Carolina, for child s*xual abuse.

Irrespective of having a successful professional career as a hip-hop artist and R&B singer, R. Kelly had a dark side to him. His career as a music artist ended in 2019 after he was arrested and convicted on charges that include s*x trafficking (which involves sexually abusing minors) and federal racketeering.

Let's take a look at R Kelly's early life and music career

Robert Sylvester Kelly, commonly known as R. Kelly, was born on January 8, 1967, to Joanne in Chicago, Illinois. Kelly and his five siblings grew up without a father, who was absent from their lives. His identity is still unknown.

When Kelly turned five, his mother got married to Lucious, who reportedly was an airline employee. According to reports, Kelly faced abuse and had trauma growing up. In one of the cases, he was s*xually assaulted by one of his family members, who was an older lady.

Kelly began his music career by performing in the Chicago subway. He also performed on the streets and busked. Kelly rose to fame and received national recognition after he participated in the Big Break, a talent contest TV show, with Mark McWilliams, Shawn Brooks, and Vincent Walker.

At the time, they called their group MGM (Musically Gifted Men or Mentally Gifted Men). Big Break was hosted by Natalie Cole, the daughter of legendary jazz musician Nat King Cole. MGM made it to the finals, won the show, and received a grand prize of $100,000. Later, the group broke up, and everyone went their separate ways.

R. Kelly was not only the most commercially successful R&B artist, but he was also one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Not to mention, he sold 75 million records globally. He is the recipient of not one, but three Grammys. Many music critics nicknamed him the Pied Piper of R&B, the King of R&B, and the King of Pop Soul.

The history of R Kelly's Crimes

R. Kelly had been subjected to accusations related to s*xual abuse since the 90s. He was charged and even convicted of several crimes, mostly related to s*xual abuse, which includes even minors. We have listed below all the crimes that he has committed over the years.

1994: Marries an underage girl

When R. Kelly was 27 years old, he married Aaliyah, a singer, who was just 15 years old at the time. Later on, it was discovered that she had lied about being 18 on the marriage certificate. It was Kelly who made it possible, as he bribed a government employee to get a fake ID for her. So that they could get married without any issues. However, they had to go through an annulment in March 1995.

2002: Kelly made child abuse videos

In June 2002, R. Kelly was accused and charged with 21 counts for shooting videos of a minor girl while abusing her s*xually. The Chicago Sun-Times received a video from an unknown source, which they forwarded to the police. Eventually, R. Kelly was brought into custody. However, he denied all charges after paying a $750,000 bail.

2002-2004: Charged for producing s*xual abuse images of a child

Between 2002 and 2004, Kelly was charged with 12 counts after the police found a camera that contained photographs of him having s*xual intercourse with a minor girl. He was arrested by the cops at his holiday home in Florida.

2017-2018: Kelly's victims sought help from the press

According to BuzzFeed News, Jerhonda Pace, who considered Kelly as her idol, ended up developing a s*xual relationship with the singer when she was just 16 years old. Later on, her relationship with Kelly turned out to be her worst nightmare. In order to keep her quiet, Kelly paid her money and made her sign a non-disclosure agreement, which she eventually broke when she approached the press. Pace testified against the R&B singer in the trial that took place in 2021.

Similarly, another woman named Kitti Jones claimed that Kelly physically abused her, starved her, and also forced her into having s*xual encounters with him and other women. Jones shared her entire experience with Kelly in a documentary by BBC Three.

2019: Charged for s*x trafficking

In July 2019, Kelly was accused and charged with recruiting and transporting underage girls for illegitimate s*xual purposes and producing images of child s*x abuse.

2019: Charged with prostitution

In August 2019, prostitution charges were filed against the R&B singer. Kelly was accused of soliciting a 17-year-old girl in 2001, whom he supposedly invited to his hotel room and paid $200 to dance naked with him. Later, Kelly's lawyer commented that the charges against him were "beyond absurd.".

2022: Sentencing in New York

In June 2022, R&B singer and record producer R. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in jail for taking undue advantage of his celebrity status to s*xually abuse women and children.

2023: 20-year sentence for crimes related to child s*x

R. Kelly was sentenced to 20 years in jail by a Chicago judge, following the trial that took place in 2022, when one of the jurors stated that Kelly lured underage girls for s*xual purposes.