Most of the time, celebrities who commit crimes or do things that are illegal or against the law are made to face the full consequences.
Most of the time, influence and connection may get some out of deep trouble and a reduced sentence but other times, they are made to face the full wrath of the law regardless of their social status or wealth.
Today, we will look at the lives of some of our favorite celebrities who have been made to face the law, in full dose, for crimes they committed.
Just like with the famous stories of celebrities like Cory C – Murder Miller, Tim Norman, Will Hayden, Eric Neposki, and Ronald Raw Diggs Heron, some of these crimes we will be bringing to life bordered around sexual abuse and assault (of minors inclusive), murder, and fraudulent activities.
Take a Look at this List of 15 Celebrities in Prison
1. Gary Glitter
Born Paul Gadd, Gary Glitter was popular as a British glam rock star in the 70s and 80s. You may know him as the singer of Rock and Roll Part 2, a song that became a sensation when it was dropped and even used in the movie Joker.
Glitter began to be investigated after a laptop technician found disturbing images of sexually abused children in Gary’s computer hard drive which he brought to be fixed.
More images of children were found in his home upon investigation and this led to his arrest back in 1997.
He was however only sentenced to a few months in jail for this and upon his release, he fled the UK.
By 2005, the former British sensation had settled in Vietnam but went back to old habits and was subsequently arrested for molesting 2 girls aged 11 and 12. Again, he was found guilty and sentenced to 3 years in jail. Glitter claimed to have been innocent and was a victim of conspiracy.
After his time in Vietnamese jail, the former singer was further deported from the country, and back in England, he was placed on a Sex offender’s registry.
4 years later, a documentary was aired on ITV about Jimmy Savile, an entertainment show host, and there was a segment on the documentary that accused Gary of raping a minor in Savile’s BBC dressing room in the late 70s.
Again, he was arrested and stood trial for sexually abusing 3 girls of all ages,11, 12, and under 10. He was found guilty of the crimes that were said to have happened from 1975 to 1980 and was sentenced to a 16-year jail term.
Although he was released in February 2023 after serving half of his jail term, the former musician was soon thrown back in for violating his release condition.
Gary Glitter was supposed to stay off the dark web but he was caught trying to access and download images of children from the dark web. He remains behind bars until further notice.
2. Harvey Weinstein
Harvey was the co-founder of Miramax, a movie company that produced many top-notch movies back in the 90s and 2000s. Some of the movies Miramax is known for producing are Good Will Hunting and Pulp Fiction.
Just like with Gary, Weinstein was also accused of sexual assault and harassment but this time, of adult women.
Many rumors made the media round but it wasn’t confirmed until the New York Times made a publication of an investigation into Harvey’s misdeeds. Days later, a New Yorker article released more allegations and in no distant time, almost 100 women recanted their ordeals with Weinstein.
Reports even have it that some of the women who brought forth their testimonials were famous women. One of whom is Annabelle Sciorra, an actress who claimed that the producer burst into her apartment one night after dinner and raped her.
On May 25, 2018, Harvey Weinstein was charged with rape, criminal sex act, sex abuse, and sexual misconduct of 2 women.
Harvey Weinstein is currently locked up and serving time in New York State’s Mohawk Correctional Facility. He was initially sentenced to 23 years in prison then later tried in Los Angeles on more crime charges and 16 years were added to his initial 23 years.
Additionally, British prosecutors requested that he be further charged with 2 more counts of indecent assault which occurred sometime in 1996 against a woman in London.
3. Josh Duggar
Josh is known as a reality TV Personality and is the oldest child of Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar whose fame came as a result of their large family consisting of 19 children. The family had a reality TV show titled 19 Kids and Counting on TLC.
Things seemed to have been moving smoothly for Duggar until 2016 when Touch Magazine got a hold of a police report that stated that when the TV star was a teenager, he molested many children including his sisters.
Following this release, an investigation was opened and several child sexual abuse images were found on Josh Duggar’s computer. He was subsequently arrested for receiving and possessing child sexual abuse images.
After finding him guilty, Josh Duggar was sentenced to 12 years and 7 months in jail and his possible release date from the Federal Correctional Facility isn’t until October 2032.
4. Joe Exotic
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Also known as ‘The Tiger King’, Jos is an American media personality and reality TV celebrity who operated a business known as the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park.
It was later revealed that the exotic creatures the director and actor claimed to have at his zoo were a sham.
Also, he was arrested and in 2020, convicted of many counts of wildlife smuggling, illegally killing tigers, and conspiracy to kill his rival, Carole Baskin, for money.
Following proper investigation and admittance from Joe, he was sentenced to 22 years in prison. However, he was later moved to the Federal Medical Center FMC Butner located in North Carolina because he was diagnosed with cancer.
Since his incarceration in 2019, there have been numerous attempts to get him pardoned by his fans, supporters, and even American rapper, Cardi B. Nonetheless, his release date isn’t until 2036.
5. Suge Knight
He is serving time at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility located in San Diego. Knight who helped the careers of many American hip-hop artists back in the day like Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Tupac Shakur, was hit with a 28-year-long prison sentence.
In 2018, he was accused of voluntary manslaughter which occurred during a deadly hit-and-run incident that happened 3 years prior.
Suge Knight pleaded ‘no contest’ to the accusation and subsequently began serving time for said crime.
6. Danny Masterson
If you have seen That 70s Show then you should recognize Danny as he was the star of the show. We best know him as Steven Hyde on the show.
The actor was arrested and charged, in September 2023 on a 3 counts charge of rape. The investigations into the accusations by 3 different women started sometime in 2017. He was first arrested in 2021.
These crimes were said to have been committed between 2001 and 2003 at Danny’s home. According to the women, they were given intoxicating drinks which disoriented them and in that state, the actor would lure them into his bedroom and forcefully rape them.
Masterson maintained that he was innocent of the accusations that involved women who were part of his church known as the Church of Scientology. Reports suggest that years before, she reported to the church’s Celebrity Center to report the case but was sternly warned against breathing a word of it to the authorities.
However, in 2022, Danny Masterson first appeared before a jury but the case closed with a hung jury.
A year later, the case was revisited and the former actor was then sentenced to 30 years imprisonment. He is only eligible for a reduced sentence after serving 25 and ½ years at the California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo.
7. Ryan Grantham
Ryan began his rise to fame at a very young age as a child actor and is well-known for his role in the movie Diary of a Wimpy Kid. His career has spanned through 30 years and he has been recognized severally for his acting skills.
However, being a great actor does not guarantee that when you break the law, you won’t face time.
In 2020, March 31, to be precise, Grantham who was just 20 years old at the time, shot his mother in the back of her head while she played the piano in the home located in British Columbia.
He then got into his car with loaded guns and headed to kill Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. However, he took a detour and headed to Simon Fraser University where he graduated from, to carry out a mass shooting.
After his escapades, Ryan Grantham turned himself in to the police and confessed his crimes.
An assessment to figure out the state of his mental health was carried out by 2 court-ordered psychiatrists and it was revealed that Ryan was suffering from major depressive disorder and cannabis use disorder to list a few.
He pleaded guilty at his hearing and was sentenced to life imprisonment with hopes of being eligible for parole in 2036.
8. Jerry Harris
Jerry Harris starred in the docuseries Cheer which shone light on the Navarro College Bulldogs Cheer Team from Corsicana. The docuseries was on Netflix and won an Emmy Award. Jerry himself won many hearts and endeared himself to a lot of people, celebrities included.
Being close to and attending the 2020 Academy Awards as Ellen DeGeneres’ correspondent did not affect Harris’ sentencing after he was found guilty of the production of child sexual abuse images and traveling for illicit sex with minors.
Jerry Harris who admitted to knowingly trading sexual images with about 15 minors pleaded guilty when he was brought to face the law.
He also admitted to traveling to have illicit sexual relations with minors and court documents showed that he had sex with a 15-year-old back in 2018.
His sentence from February 2022 stated that he would be in a federal prison located in Oklahoma City for 12 years.
9. Michael Jace
This is another actor who is well-known for his role as Officer Julien Lowe on The Shield. You may also recognize him from his stint on Forrest Gump.
Jace is facing many jail years because, on May 19, 2024, he shot and killed his wife, April in their home located in Hyde Park, Los Angeles.
April was a well-celebrated and decorated sprinter.
When Jace carried out this horrendous act, his sons who were 5 and 8 years old at the time, saw what happened from their bedroom.
During the trial, persecutors said that Jace was scared that his wife was having an affair and that she would leave him. It was revealed that he first shot her in the leg and said “If you like running, then run to heaven.”
It was also revealed that he had been drinking all day, the night the incident happened.
The actor was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison after being convicted of second-degree murder.
Although he apologized for his misdeeds, he is currently serving time at the California State Prison located in Corcoran.
10. Jared Fogle
Jared first made news headlines back in 1999 when he shared how he lost 245 pounds after going on a self-created diet eating just Subway. From this revelation, Subway hired him to be their spokesperson and feature in their commercials.
Soon after finding fame and a job, he started the Jared Foundation which was aimed at curbing childhood obesity.
On July 7, 2015, the FBI and Indiana State Police investigators raided Jared’s Indiana house and seized his computers and DVD players.
This followed the arrest of Jared Foundation’s executive director, Russell Taylor’s arrest on a charge of federal child abuse images.
While investigations on Taylor were ongoing, receipts of exchange of explicit videos of under-10-year-old children were found. The trade was between Taylor and Fogle.
Additional implicating messages were found between Jared and someone he was having an affair with. In the texts, Fogle revealed explicit information about sexually abusing children as young as 9-year-olds. He also tried to get his affairee to help him sleep with her cousin who was 16 years old at the time.
Fogle’s deeds didn’t end there as it was further revealed that he had made a trip to New York to have sex with a 17-year-old sex worker. He also had a reputation for offering sex workers a finder’s fee if they got him minors to sleep with.
He pleaded guilty to 2 counts brought against him and was sentenced to 15 years and 8 months jail time. His parole eligibility isn’t until sometime in 2029 so he is currently at the Federal Correctional Institution located in Englewood.
11. Jen Shah
Away from sexual abuse and assault, Jen Shah’s criminal offence borders around conspiracy to commit money laundering as well as wire fraud.
Jen is a reality TV star who started on The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.
In March 2021, Jen Shah and her assistant were charged with the aforementioned crime after they were reported to have tried to scam and defraud older citizens through a telemarketing scam where they would promise their victims services such as building websites or business coaching for exorbitant amounts of money.
Their promises were all a scam because their coaching was of no value yet they planned on keeping their victims hooked to their services and extorting more money from them.
The reality TV star initially claimed to be innocent but later pleaded guilty to wire fraud.
After being found guilty, she faced a prison time of 6 and ½ years being eligible for parole sometime in 2028. She is currently serving time at the FPC Bryan Prison located in Texas.
12. Joe Son
Joe son is known for his roles in small movie productions. However, he starred in 1997’s Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery where he played the role of the villain, Random Task.
A cankerworm was opened after the actor was arrested in 2008 for kicking the door of his roommate’s car.
He was then instructed, during a plea deal, to bring a sample of his DNA and when his sample was run through the system, it was revealed that Son was indeed a big-time offender.
Back in 1990, on December 24, he and a friend pretended to be lost and approached a 19-year-old woman who was walking her dog and abducted the woman, holding her hostage for hours.
Son and his accomplice beat and raped the woman during the time she was in their custody.
The Korean actor also repeatedly threatened to shoot the woman.
According to the woman's testimony, Joe Son said that he was giving himself as a Christmas gift to her.
The court found Joe Son guilty of one count of felony torture and sentenced him to 7 years to life. However, just a month into serving time, Son killed his cellmate and was further convicted of voluntary manslaughter and an additional 27 years was bestowed on his sentence.
13. Amy Locane
This actor had a promising career back in the early ‘90s as she starred alongside Johnny Depp in Cry-Baby. She was also the cast of Blue Sky and from her stellar acting, she won the Young Artists’ Award nomination for Best Performance by a Youth Actress Co-Starring in a Motion Picture.
Additionally, she starred on Melrose Place which was a hit prime-time soap opera.
Amy was arrested for crashing into a car of Fred Seeman who was making a left-hand turn into his driveway.
The date was June 27, 2010, and the actress was driving 53 miles per hour in a 35-mile-per-hour zone.
During the crash, Locane hit and killed Seeman’s wife, Helene and when the police arrived at the scene of the crime, they found that Amy had a .23 blood alcohol level.
She was then arrested and charged with second-degree vehicular homicide and assault by auto. She was sentenced to 3 years in jail which was less than what should have been.
At the time, she had children whom the judge considered while giving the sentence. She was also made to join Alcoholics Anonymous and get sober.
Amy Locane was due for parole on June 12, 2015, but an appeal court resentenced her to 8 years in prison on September 17, 2020, because the court found her initial sentencing to be lenient.
Her due date for being released from New Jersey’s Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women is sometime in 2028. She is however eligible for parole on December 20, 2024.
14. R-Kelly
This was one of the most shocking and disheartening news that hit the media back in the late 2010s to early 2020s.
R-Kelly is one of the most popular and beloved R&B artists who sold over 75 million records including ‘I Believe I Can Fly’ which sold in the millions.
The singer has faced many accusations of sexual abuse especially of minors but for the longest, owing to both fame and wealth, R-Kelly was able to evade being brought to book.
Evidence of his activities includes marrying 15-year-old Aaliyah at the age of 27, in 1994. The young girl was just 15 years at the time and this marriage happened without her parent’s knowledge or approval.
Luckily, the marriage ended when Aaliyah’s parents found out about it.
In 1996, a woman filed a complaint against the singer about how she was sexually abused by him when she was 15 years old. This case was settled out of court and the case died off.
4 years later, in 2000, a report from the Chicago Sun-Times stated that the police had opened investigations against R-Kelly. The case was not different from the others as it bordered on sexual abuse of minors.
It wasn’t furthered because the initial accusers were not willing to cooperate and bring the singer to face the law.
In 2002, the media was hit with a disturbing video of the singer urinating on and engaging in sexual acts with a minor.
This was when R-Kelly was finally charged and after a while, following a raid of his Florida home by the police, 12 more charges were added to the initial 21.
The charges brought against the singer were of child sexual abuse, and producing child sexual abuse images as the police found images of R-Kelly having sex with an underaged child.
Both charges were however dropped with the Chicago court ruling in the singer’s favor claiming that it couldn’t be proven that the girl on the tape was underage.
The Florida charge was dropped because the court insisted that the police didn’t have justified cause for the search warrant which led to the findings in his house.
In 2019, all came to bear when a Lifetime documentary titled Surviving R-Kelly was released. In the 6-hour-long documentary, all of the singer’s activities involving sexual acts with minors were brought to life.
Subsequently, the I Believe I Can Fly singer was charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and was indicted twice for crimes related to having sexual intercourse with minors. This time, there was a video showing the singer having sex with a 14-year-old girl that couldn’t be ignored.
R-Kelly was found guilty and sentenced to 31 years imprisonment in 2022. His jail term is expected to end sometime in 2053 and won’t be eligible for parole until 2047.
The singer is being held at the FCI Butner Medium I, North Carolina.
15. P-Diddy
In 2023, accusations surrounding sexual abuse and sex & drug trafficking began to raise heads against P-Diddy, born Sean Combs.
The list of his accusations and people who have been linked to his crimes have all been detailed in different posts on this site.
The hip-hop artist had, for almost a year, evaded going to prison and facing the numerous charges against him.
However, on September 16, 2024, the CEO was arrested in a hotel located in Manhattan. 6 months prior, federal agents raided the house of the singer and found disturbing images which included 1000 bottles of baby oil and tunnels that reportedly led to the Playboy Mansion and Michael Jackson’s house.
He was charged with 3 felony counts of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Despite testimonies and accusations from many women who were victims and witnesses, the business mogul denies all accusations.
He was however denied bail and is still in the custody of the federal authorities.
Despite not being sentenced yet, P-Diddy is currently behind bars at the Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center while awaiting trial which is expected to happen sometime in October.
If found guilty of the aforementioned charges, the artist faces 15 years to a lifetime imprisonment.
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