"Kelly – interposing a statute-of-limitations defense – thinks he delayed the charges long enough to elude them entirely. The statute says otherwise, so we affirm his conviction," Judge Amy St. Eve wrote in the unanimous ruling.

R. Kelly’s sex-crime conviction and 20-year sentence in Chicago’s federal court will stand, an appeals court ruled Friday in a blistering opinion.

R. Kelly's attempt to appeal his 20-year sentence on sex crime and child pornography charges has been denied. R. Kelly’s attempt to appeal his 20-year sentence on sex crime and child pornography charges has been denied.