R. Kelly latest notorious inmate at Butner Federal Prison in North Carolina

GRANVILLE COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- John R. Kelly, whose legal name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, more famously known as R&B artist R. Kelly was moved last week from the correctional center in Chicago to the Federal Correctional Institute in Butner, N.C.

The 56-year-old is serving out a thirty-year-long prison sentence for child sex crimes and other offenses including racketeering and sex trafficking.

Kelly follows other notorious inmates to serve time at Butner including Unabomber Ted Kaczynski, Martha Stewart, and Bernie Madoff.

Author Chris Zoukis, who served federal time, is the author of the Federal Prison Handbook, a recent law school graduate, and runs a federal prison consultancy group.

Zoukis says Butner has always been a sought-after facility for clients facing federal sentences.

"Because of the federal medical center there, so you tend to get better medical care," Zoukis explained.

"One of the nice things about the Butner complexes is that they tend to be pretty soft facilities. Every institution has a different kind of cultural level. But, Butner, is actually a pretty good place because they tend to have a low level of violence. And, sex offenders, informants, and LGBTQ inmates can stay there as opposed to some institutions where they would actually be attacked."

In 2021, Kelly was convicted after a six-week trial of racketeering, having sex with underage girls, and sexual exploitation of children leading to the 30-year sentence he's now serving in Butner.

Kelly is serving among a total of 771 inmates at Butner. He has denied any wrongdoing and plans to appeal his conviction.