R. Kelly Found Guilty of Racketeering, Sex Trafficking

Singer R. Kelly was recovered blameworthy by a New York assemblage connected Sept. 27 connected each charges successful his national racketeering proceedings aft helium was accused by aggregate witnesses of grooming and exploiting young women for years.

The 54-year-old, whose existent sanction is Robert Sylvester Kelly, perchance could beryllium sentenced to decades successful prison. He was archetypal indicted successful July 2019 and pleaded not blameworthy to the charges successful 2020. His proceedings started connected Aug. 18 with grounds from much than 45 witnesses implicit the span of respective weeks.

Kelly was charged with a full of 9 counts, including racketeering, with 14 underlying acts that included intersexual exploitation of a child, bribery, kidnapping, and enactment trafficking charges. He besides faced respective further counts of violations nether the Mann Act, a enactment trafficking law.

The “I Believe I Can Fly” vocalist besides faces national charges successful Chicago, arsenic good arsenic section charges successful Illinois and California.

The charges were based connected an statement that the entourage of managers and aides who helped the vocalist conscionable girls—and support them quiet—amounted to a transgression enterprise. Several accusers testified during the trial, alleging that Kelly subjected them to maltreatment erstwhile they were underage.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Cruz Melendez said Kelly was a serial abuser who “maintained power implicit these victims utilizing each instrumentality successful the predator handbook,” though the singer’s defence lawyers said the accusers were “stalkers” who were trying to exploit him and peddled “lie aft lie” to defame him.

“You made a choice,” Deveraux Cannick, 1 of Kelly’s lawyers, told 1 unnamed pistillate who testified. “You participated of your ain will.”

“They’re each moving connected those paydays,” Cannick said of the accusers, referring to lawsuits against Kelly. “These folks are capitalizing.”

“You can’t blasted folks for trying to marque a surviving but that’s wholly abstracted from trying to instrumentality distant someone’s liberty.”

But in closing arguments, Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Geddes stated that Kelly “used lies, manipulation, threats, and carnal maltreatment to predominate his victims” and weaponized his “money and nationalist persona” to fell the crimes.

“Of people we’re disappointed with the verdict. We’re adjacent much disappointed with the prosecution for bringing this lawsuit fixed each the inconsistencies,” Cannick said successful a connection aft the verdict, the New York Daily News reported. “I don’t deliberation anyone is prepared for an result similar this erstwhile you cognize the truth.”

Kelly, who ne'er took the stand, is known for galore hits that earned him 26 Grammy Award nominations implicit the years portion selling millions of albums.

But successful 2002, the vocalist was indicted connected 21 counts of kid pornography earlier helium was cleared connected each counts. Throughout his career, Kelly has been dogged by allegations of maltreatment and trafficking.

In a 2019 CBS News interview with Gayle King, Kelly emotionally denied each the allegations against him and portrayed it arsenic portion of a conspiracy. Some of the accusers, helium suggested successful the interview, were trying to summation fame.

“Believe me, man! This is not me! They lying connected me! They’re lying connected me! I’m cool, bro,” helium yelled. “I’m cool. I’m good. I’m not acrophobic due to the fact that I’m telling the truth. I’m not acrophobic due to the fact that I’m telling the truth!”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.