NEW YORK -
R. Kelly has long faced and denied allegations of lurid behavior and sex abuse. A jury has now found him guilty of sex trafficking in a federal trial in New York stemming from those allegations.
A TIMELINE OF KELLY'S LIFE
Jan. 8, 1967
Robert Sylvester Kelly born in Chicago as third of four children of schoolteacher Joann Kelly. Little is known about his father.
1975
Kelly begins singing in church. Around that time, years of sexual abuse by an adult relative begins, according to his 2012 memoir.
1979
Kelly witnesses a rape at age 12.
1983
Mother moves family from Chicago housing projects and enrolls Kelly in the prestigious Kenwood Academy.
1984
Performs Stevie Wonder hit 鈥淩ibbon in the Sky鈥 in a talent show. In following years, he performs in subway stations with his keyboard, often feigning blindness to avoid arrest.
1990
His R&B group MGM wins $100,000 grand prize on the show 鈥淏ig Break.鈥 Jive Records executive Wayne Williams discovers Kelly singing at a barbecue.
January 1992
R. Kelly & Public Announcement debuts 鈥淏orn Into The '90s.鈥 Album released the following year goes platinum.
November 1993
His album 鈥12 Play鈥 is released and eventually sells more than 5 million copies. Hit singles include 鈥淪ex Me鈥 and 鈥淏ump N' Grind.鈥
Aug. 31, 1994
At 27, R. Kelly marries 15-year-old singer Aaliyah D. Haughton in a secret ceremony. Marriage is annulled months later because of Aaliyah's age.
September 1994
Aaliyah's debut album, 鈥淎ge Ain't Nothing But A Number,鈥 which Kelly produced, goes platinum. Aaliyah dies in a plane crash seven years later at age 22.
1996
Releases third album 鈥淩. Kelly鈥 and incorporates Rockland Records. Song 鈥淚 Believe I Can Fly鈥 is a huge hit. Marries 22-year-old dancer Andrea Lee, and they go on to have three children: Joanne, Jaya and Robert Jr.
Feb. 18, 1997
Tiffany Hawkins files a complaint alleging sexual battery and harassment when she was a minor.
January 1998
Hawkins' lawsuit is reportedly settled for US$250,000.
February 1998
Kelly wins three Grammys for 鈥淚 Believe I Can Fly.鈥
November 1998
Album 鈥淩.鈥 hits stores and eventually sells 6 million copies.
November 2000
Album 鈥淭P-2.com鈥 debuts at No. 1.
August 2001
Tracy Sampson sues Kelly, alleging their sex was illegal under Illinois law because he was in a position of authority. Case is reportedly settled out of court.
Feb. 8, 2002
Chicago Sun-Times reports that it received a videotape showing Kelly having sex with a minor and that police had begun investigating related allegations three years earlier. The girl and her parents deny the relationship. The same day, Kelly performs at the opening ceremonies for the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
June 5, 2002
Kelly indicted in Chicago on child porn charges stemming from the sex tape, pleads not guilty and is released on bail.
January 2003
Kelly is arrested at a Florida hotel on child porn charges after investigators say they found photos of him with a girl. Charges are later dropped after a judge rules police didn't have a warrant.
Feb. 18, 2003
Album 鈥淐hocolate Factory鈥 is released to immediate success.
July 2005
Album 鈥淭P.3 Reloaded鈥 hits No. 1.
September 2005
Andrea Kelly asks for order of protection, accusing her husband of hitting her when she asked for a divorce.
February 2006
Carey Kelly says his brother offered him US$50,000 and a record deal to say he was the person in the sex video.
May 29, 2007
Album 鈥淒ouble Up鈥 is released and later hits No. 1.
May 9, 2008
Child pornography trial begins.
June 13, 2008
Kelly is acquitted after fast jury deliberations.
Jan 8, 2009
Kelly and Andrea confirm they divorced.
July 12, 2011
Crain's Chicago Business reports a $2.9 million foreclosure was filed on Kelly's suburban Chicago mansion. Spokesperson says Kelly is not having financial trouble.
March 21, 2012
Kelly announces he is reviving a video series, 鈥淭rapped in the Closet,鈥 that eventually becomes a rap opera about a web of sexual deceit. There is talk of a Broadway show.
June 15, 2012
Chicago Sun-Times reports Kelly owes the IRS more than $4.8 million.
June 27, 2012
Publishes autobiography 鈥淪oulacoaster: The Diary of Me,鈥 focusing on his creative and family life.
March 18, 2013
Mansion once valued at more than $5 million sells for $950,000 at auction.
2017
BuzzFeed reports on parents' claims that Kelly brainwashed their daughters. Activists launch #MuteRKelly movement, calling for boycotts of his music.
Feb. 13, 2018
Kelly is evicted from two Atlanta-area homes over more than $31,000 in unpaid rent.
April 2018
Time's Up campaign joins #MuteRKelly and pushes for investigation. Kelly's camp responds: 鈥淲e will vigorously resist this attempted public lynching of a black man who has made extraordinary contributions to our culture.鈥
May 2018
Spotify cuts R. Kelly's music from its playlists. Apple and Pandora soon stop promoting his music.
May 21, 2018
Faith Rodgers, 20, sues R. Kelly, alleging sexual battery, mental and verbal abuse, and of knowingly inflicting her with herpes.
Jan. 3, 2019
Lifetime airs 鈥淪urviving R. Kelly,鈥 revisiting old allegations and airing new ones. It follows 2018's 鈥淩 Kelly: Sex, Girls & Videotapes鈥 on BBC.
Jan. 9, 2019
Lady Gaga says she will remove 2013 duet with Kelly from streaming services.
Jan. 14, 2019
Rodgers says Kelly threatened to reveal embarrassing details of her sexual history if she didn't drop May 2018 lawsuit.
Jan. 21, 2019
News reports say Kelly and his label, Sony subsidiary RCA Records, part ways. Fellow musicians including Celine Dion further distance themselves.
Feb. 6, 2019
Kelly tweets about a new tour of Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka, then deletes it following backlash.
Feb. 14, 2019
Attorney Michael Avenatti says he gave Chicago prosecutors new video evidence of Kelly with a girl.
Feb. 22, 2019
Kelly is arrested and charged with 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse.
Feb. 25, 2019
Kelly pleads not guilty, posts bail and is released from Chicago jail.
March 2019
In CBS interview, Kelly denies sexual abuse charges. Authorities in Illinois take Kelly into custody after he tells a judge he can't pay $161,000 in back child support.
May 30, 2019
Kelly is charged with 11 new counts in Chicago involving a woman who accused him of abusing her when she was underage.
July 11, 2019
Kelly is indicted in Chicago on federal charges including child pornography. Separate federal indictment in New York includes charges of racketeering. He is again arrested in Chicago.
July 16, 2019
Judge orders Kelly held without bond.
Aug. 2, 2019
Kelly pleads not guilty to sexually abusing women and girls who attended his concerts. His lawyers call them disgruntled groupies.
Aug. 5, 2019
Kelly is charged in Minnesota with soliciting a 17-year-old.
Oct. 2, 2019
Kelly is denied bail in his New York City case.
Dec. 5, 2019
Kelly is charged with paying a bribe in exchange for a 鈥渇raudulent identification document鈥 a day before he married Aaliyah. He later pleads not guilty.
March 5, 2020
Kelly pleads not guilty in Chicago to an updated federal indictment that includes a new accuser.
Aug. 12, 2020
Charges announced against three men accused of threatening and intimidating women who accused Kelly of abuse.
Aug. 14, 2020
Kelly's manager is arrested in California on charges that he threatened a shooting at a Manhattan theater two years before, forcing the cancellation of a screening of a documentary about allegations against R. Kelly.
July 24, 2021
Federal prosecutors say Kelly had sexual contact with a boy in addition to girls, and the government wants trial jurors to hear those claims.
Aug. 18, 2021
Opening statements begin in Kelly's federal trial in New York.
Sept. 24, 2021
Jury begins deliberating in the New York trial, even as trial dates in Illinois and Minnesota cases remain to be set.
Sept. 27, 2021
The jury finds R. Kelly guilty of sex trafficking and violating the Mann Act, which makes it illegal to take anyone across state lines 鈥渇or any immoral purpose.鈥