TIMELINE: THE CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION OF R. KELLY
Jan. 8, 1967: Robert Sylvester Kelly is born in Chicago.
January 1992: R. Kelly releases his debut album, “Born Into the ’90s,” with the group Public Announcement.
Aug. 31, 1994: Kelly marries his 15-year-old protégé, Aaliyah Haughton, who is identified as Jane Doe #1 in Kelly’s federal indictment in New York. It alleges that, around the time of the marriage, Kelly had someone pay a bribe in exchange for a fake ID for Haughton.
February 1998: Kelly wins three Grammys for his hit from the “Space Jam” soundtrack, “I Believe I Can Fly.”
May-October 1999: This is when Kelly is accused of illegal conduct with Jane Doe #2, who met Kelly when she was 16 after a member of his entourage approached her at a fast-food restaurant. Prosecutors say Kelly filmed their sexual intercourse multiple times, creating child pornography.
Dec. 21, 2000: The Chicago Sun-Times publishes the first in a series of articles about Kelly written by Jim DeRogatis and Abdon M. Pallasch. The pair reported in their first article that, “Chicago singer and songwriter R. Kelly used his position of fame and influence as a pop superstar to meet girls as young as 15 and have sex with them, according to court records and interviews.”
Aug. 25, 2001: Aaliyah Haughton dies in a plane crash.
Feb. 1, 2002: The Chicago Sun-Times anonymously receives a copy of a videotape that appears to depict sex acts between Kelly and a girl who is believed to be 14 years old. The newspaper turns the video over to police.
Feb. 8, 2002: The Chicago Sun-Times reports on the videotape it received one week earlier. The report appears the same day Kelly performs at the opening ceremonies for the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
June 5, 2002: A Cook County grand jury indicts Kelly on 21 counts of child pornography based on the video received by the SunTimes earlier in 2002.
2003-2004: This is when Kelly allegedly kidnapped and sexually assaulted a woman identified in the federal indictment in New York as Jane Doe #3. Prosecutors say Jane Doe #3 met Kelly at a mall outside of Illinois while she was working as a radio station intern in her early 20s.
May 20, 2008: Testimony begins in Kelly’s trial on child pornography charges in Cook County, and defense lawyers insist Kelly is not the man who appeared on the tape that depicts sex acts involving an underage girl.
June 13, 2008: A Cook County jury acquits Kelly in his child pornography case after the alleged victim on the central video refuses to testify.
May 2009: This is when Kelly allegedly began a monthslong sexual relationship with the victim known as Jane Doe #4, who was 16 at the time. Kelly allegedly made photos and videos of Jane Doe #4 engaging in sexual intercourse with Kelly and others. He also allegedly led her to believe that she or members of her family would suffer serious harm if she did not perform sex acts on him and others. Prosecutors say Jane Doe #4 appeared in the Lifetime documentary series “Surviving R. Kelly.”
2015: Kelly allegedly had sex in April, May, September and October of 2015
with Jane Doe #5, while she was under the age of 18. Jane Doe #5 has been publicly identified as Azriel Clary, Kelly’s former girlfriend.
May 18, 2017: Kelly allegedly has unprotected sex with the woman known as Jane Doe #6, failing to tell her he had herpes. The feds say Jane Doe #6 appeared in the Lifetime documentary series “Surviving R. Kelly.”
Feb. 2, 2018: Kelly allegedly again has unprotected sex with Jane Doe #6 without telling her he had herpes.
Jan. 3, 2019: “Surviving R. Kelly,” a documentary series, premieres on Lifetime.
Feb. 22, 2019:
Cook County prosecutors again file charges against Kelly, this time accusing him of 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse that took place between 1998 and 2010.
July 11, 2019: Federal prosecutors reveal indictments against Kelly in Chicago and
Brooklyn; authorities arrest the singer while he is walking his dog outside Trump Tower in Chicago.
July 16, 2019: Federal prosecutors tell a judge in Chicago the alleged victim in Kelly’s 2008 child pornography trial is cooperating with the government.
2020: Attempts to put Kelly on trial are repeatedly thwarted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Judges in Chicago and Brooklyn also reject multiple requests by Kelly to be released from jail.
June 22, 2021: After a nearly two-year stay in Chicago’s downtown Metropolitan Correctional Center, Kelly is moved to a detention center in Brooklyn to await trial.
Aug. 11, 2021: R. Kelly’s Brooklyn trial begins. A prosecutor described Kelly to jurors as a predator who lured girls, boys and young women with his fame and dominated them physically, sexually and psychologically while a defense lawyer warned that they’ll have to sift through lies from accusers with agendas to find the truth.
Sept. 27, 2021: A Brooklyn jury finds R. Kelly guilty of racketeering on their second day of deliberations. The charges were based on an argument that the entourage of managers and aides who helped the singer meet girls — and keep them obedient and quiet — amounted to a criminal enterprise.
June 29, 2022: A Brooklyn judge sentences R. Kelly to 30 years in prison.
July 22, 2022: R. Kelly is transferred back to Chicago’s Metropolitan Correctional Center in the Loop while awaiting trial.
Aug. 15, 2022: R. Kelly faces trial on child pornography and obstruction-of-justice charges in Chicago’s federal courthouse. He is accused of conspiring to intimidate victims and conceal evidence to cheat his way to an acquittal in his 2008 child pornography trial.