A US federal court ruled on Wednesday in favour of upholding R. Kelly's convictions for sex trafficking and racketeering, as well as his 30-year prison sentence.

The ruling was issued by a three-judge panel at the US 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, upholding Kelly's convictions by a six-week jury trial at the District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

As per the document, the three-time Grammy winner "exploited his fame to lure girls and young women into his grasp," being "enabled by a constellation of managers, assistants, and other staff for over twenty-five years."

"Evidence at trial showed that he would isolate them from friends and family, control nearly every aspect of their lives, and abuse them verbally, physically, and sexually," the document continues.

The original ruling was issued by the District Court for the Eastern District of New York, in a six-week jury trial presided voir dire by Judge Ann M. Donnelly. Kelly was found guilty of all nine counts he was indicted on, and sentenced to 30 years in prison.

His counts included racketeering in violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act ("RICO"), and transportation and coercion in violation of the Mann Act.

Kelly's appeal, conducted by lawyer Jennifer Bonjean, challenged the following elements of the ruling: the sufficiency of the evidence; the constitutionality of some of the laws by which he was convicted; the empanelling of four jurors (who, they allege, were biased); the admission of certain evidence; and the order of restitution for which funds were seized from Kelly's Bureau of Prisons ("BOP") inmate account.

All of the appeal's arguments were found "without merit" by the court. However, panel-judge Richard J. Sullivan dissented on the restitution challenge, finding the district court had "abused its discretion" in providing Jane—one of the victims according to the ruling, who was given herpes by him—with a lifetime supply of the drug Valtrex.

According to Associated Press, Bonjean stated she believes the Supreme Court will agree to hear an appeal on this "unprecedented" ruling.  She said the decision provides prosecutors with discretion to apply the racketeering law "to situations absurdly remote" from the statute’s intent.

Last year, however, the Supreme Court did not agree to hear an appeal on a 2022 ruling in Chicago that sentenced Kelly to 20 years and convicted him of child sex charges.

There have been accusations of sexual abuse towards the singer since the '90s. The artist has been involved in several civil suits and criminal trials since then. It was after the release of the 2019 documentary Surviving R. Kelly that additional investigations were commenced by law enforcement.

His label at the time, RCA Records, dropped him after the documentary's release.