By Mark Savage, BBC music correspondent
R. Kelly, the chart-topping R&B singer, has faced a long history of accusations of s**ual abuse spanning over two decades.
These allegations have centered around his predatory pursuit of teenage girls since the start of his career in the 1990s.
In 2022, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison after being found guilty of eight counts of s** trafficking and one count of racketeering in a New York court.
He later faced a second federal trial in Chicago, where he was convicted of child s**ual abuse.
He still faces s**ual misconduct charges in Minnesota.
Let’s take a look at the timeline of the accusations against him.
1994: Marrying Aaliyah
At the age of 27, R. Kelly married 15-year-old singer Aaliyah in a secret ceremony in Chicago.
The marriage was later annulled after it was discovered that Aaliyah had lied about her age on the wedding certificate.
Kelly’s former tour manager testified that he bribed a government worker to obtain a fake ID for Aaliyah.
Throughout her career, Aaliyah dodged questions about their relationship.
1996: Lawsuit for Emotional Distress
Tiffany Hawkins sued R. Kelly for emotional distress, claiming that she had a three-year relationship with him starting when she was 15 and he was 24.
The case was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.
2001: Lawsuit by Intern
Tracy Sampson, a former intern at Epic Records, sued R. Kelly, accusing him of inducing her into an indecent s**ual relationship when she was 17.
The case was settled out of court.
2002: Child Abuse Videos Charges
R. Kelly was charged with 21 counts of making child s**ual abuse videos involving various s**ual acts.
The charges were based on a video that was sent anonymously to the Chicago Sun Times.
Kelly denied the charges and pleaded not guilty.
After six years, he was found not guilty on all counts.
2002-2004: Further Charges
Kelly faced a further 12 counts of producing child s**ual abuse images in Florida.
These charges were dropped when a judge agreed that police lacked sufficient evidence for a search.
2017: Allegations of a ‘Cult’
A Buzzfeed report accused R. Kelly of trapping six women in a s** “cult.”
The article claimed that Kelly controlled every aspect of their lives and confiscated their mobile phones.
The allegations were made by three former employees and the parents of several women.
2019: Surviving R. Kelly Documentary
The Lifetime documentary Surviving R. Kelly presented detailed allegations against the singer.
As a result, Kelly was dropped by his record company and faced criminal
