R. Kelly Now: Where Is the Rapper Today?

r kelly now

Getty R. Kelly.

R. Kelly, the rapper whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, is incarcerated today, as of January 3, 2023, according to the federal Bureau of Prisons.

Kelly, 55, is an inmate at “Chicago MCC,” under register number 09627-035, the Bureau of Prisons inmate search says. His release date is listed on that website as “unknown.”

The Bureau of Prisons website describes Chicago MCC as “an administrative security metropolitan correctional center.” Information about visiting hours and requirements for that facility are listed here.

“Surviving R. Kelly Part III: The Final Chapter” is a two-part series that is airing on Lifetime on January 2 and January 3, 2022, according to Lifetime. The final episode airs at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday, January 3, 2023, on Lifetime.

Here’s what you need to know:


When ‘Surviving R. Kelly’ First Came Out, the Artist Was Still a ‘Free Man’

K. Michelle R. Kelly

GettyR. Kelly turns to leave after appearing at a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse on September 17, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois.

According to Variety, the first installments in the Lifetime docuseries “Surviving R. Kelly” came out four years ago, when R. Kelly was still “a free man.”

Variety reported that the first accusations of abuse of underage girls emerged in the early 1990s, but R. Kelly continued to enjoy a successful musical career.

He was acquitted in 2008 of child pornography, according to Variety. According to Variety, the third installment in the docuseries focuses on the trial that landed R. Kelly in prison.

It follows survivors who testified during the court proceedings, Variety reported.

“We are in a very different place at the start of this installment than we were over four years ago when we started this journey. He’s facing some very serious crimes,” executive producer Jesse Daniels said to Variety.

Lifetime explains of the 2023 episodes:

The groundbreaking, Peabody award-winning, Emmy-nominated, documentary series Surviving R. Kelly concludes with the final installment following the former R&B superstar as he faces multiple federal and state trials. While millions have read the headlines, the final chapter connects the shocking fine print with unspeakable details never shared with the public, culminating in the verdict heard around the world.


Kelly Was Convicted in September 2022 of Federal Child Pornography & Minor Enticement Charges

r. kelly

GettySinger R. Kelly appears during a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse on September 17, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois.

In September 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice reported that a federal jury in Chicago had “convicted recording artist ROBERT SYLVESTER KELLY, also known as ‘R. Kelly,’ on child pornography and exploitation charges.”

“Evidence at the four-week trial in U.S. District Court in Chicago revealed that Kelly enticed multiple girls to engage in sexual activity and recorded some of the abuse on videotape,” the DOJ’s press release says. “Kelly met the victims in the late 1990s and engaged in sex acts with them while they were under the age of eighteen.”

Kelly, 55, of Chicago, “was convicted on three counts of producing child pornography and three counts of enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity,” the release continues. “Each count of producing child pornography carries a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years in federal prison and a maximum of 20 years. The maximum sentence for each count of enticement of a minor is ten years. In all, Kelly faces a sentence of ten to 90 years in prison.”

A sentencing date was not immediately set, the release says.

The complaint continues:

The jury acquitted Kelly on seven other counts, including one count of child pornography, one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, one count of conspiracy to receive child pornography, two counts of receiving child pornography, and two counts of enticing a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity. The jury also acquitted two co-defendants, who were former employees of Kelly’s music business: DERREL MCDAVID, 61, of Chicago (acquitted of one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, one count of conspiracy to receive child pornography, and two counts of receiving child pornography) and MILTON BROWN, also known as “June Brown,” 56, of Chicago (acquitted of one count of conspiracy to receive child pornography).

“The guilty verdicts finally hold Robert Kelly accountable for the sexual abuse of a 14-year-old girl, and they help right the wrongs that occurred in a prior prosecution in Cook County,” said U.S. Attorney John R. Lausch Jr. in the press release. It continues:

The damage Mr. Kelly inflicted on his victims is immeasurable. I want to thank the victims for their strength, perseverance, and courage in coming forward to testify at trial. With regard to the not-guilty verdicts, we respect the jury’s decision. While certain aspects of the charges and the trial made it difficult to obtain convictions for all of the charged conduct, it is clear that justice has been served by the guilty verdicts returned today.

Kelly was already sentenced to 30 years in prison in another case, according to a press release from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. On Sept. 27, 2021, “following six weeks of trial, a federal jury in Brooklyn convicted Kelly of all nine counts of a superseding indictment charging him with racketeering predicated on criminal conduct including sexual exploitation of children, forced labor and Mann Act violations involving the coercion and transportation of women and girls in interstate commerce to engage in illegal sexual activity,” that release says.

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