CHICAGO — 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.

“For years, Robert Sylvester Kelly abused underage girls. By employing a complex scheme to keep victims quiet, he long evaded consequences. In recent years, though, those crimes caught up with him at last,” Judge Amy St. Eve of the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals wrote in the terse, 14-page ruling.

“But 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.”

The appellate court also denied Kelly’s request for resentencing, saying they had no grounds to second-guess the 20-year prison term U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber handed down.

“An even-handed jury found Kelly guilty, acquitting him on several charges even after viewing those abhorrent tapes,” the appellate ruling states. “No statute of limitations saves him, and the resulting sentence was procedurally proper and — especially under these appalling circumstances — substantively fair.”

Kelly’s attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, told the Tribune Friday that they were still weighing whether to request a rehearing before the full 7th Circuit panel — a move that is rarely granted.

Meanwhile, Bonjean says she plans to petition the U.S. Supreme Court on the statute of limitations issue, which centers on whether a new law passed after the underlying crimes in Kelly’s case should have been applied.

“We believe that is an appropriate issue for review by the Supreme Court,” Bonjean said.

Kelly, 57, is serving his time at a medium-security facility in Butner, North Carolina. His current release date is Dec. 21, 2045, when he’d be a couple weeks shy of his 79th birthday, federal prison records show.

Bonjean said she just spoke to Kelly on Thursday and that he remained “optimistic” about his remaining appeals.

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