R&B legend Robert Kelly, otherwise renowned worldwide by his pseudonym, R. Kelly, was found guilty of sex trafficking and racketeering by a New York court, on Monday.
R Kelly found guilty: What’s he been convicted of?
After years of court delays in his numerous cases involving the star’s egregious acts against underaged women and children, a jury of seven men and five women found the 54-year-old guilty of nine counts of sex trafficking and racketeering, the latter charge including bribery and the sexual exploitation of a minor.
Moreover, the Step In The Name Of Love star was found to be in violation of the Mann Act, a statute that protects women and children against illegal transportation and coercion.
“Today’s guilty verdict forever brands R. Kelly as a predator, who used his fame and fortune to prey on the young, the vulnerable, and the voiceless for his own sexual gratification,” the US’ Eastern District attorney Jacquelyn Kasulis told reporters outside the Brooklyn courthouse shortly after the verdict was handed down.
Here’s how much prison time R Kelly faces
It took six weeks for the court to find Kelly guilty. The trial involved 45 witness testimonies, including a posthumous statement from the singer’s former wife Aaliyah who was wedded in 1994 when she was only 15 years old.
Kelly is due to return to the Brooklyn court on 4 May 2022, where he will learn of his sentence. According to US criminal law, the degree of the charges he’s been convicted of could see the 54-year-old sentenced to life in prison.
Whether this mandatory sentence will include a possibility of parole remains to be seen.
Kelly’s defence team has already indicated its intention to challenge the conviction.
“Of course Mr. Kelly is disappointed… He was not anticipating this verdict because based on the evidence, why should he anticipate this verdict?… You saw witness after witness giving three, four, five different versions as to what they said happened here,” defence attorney Deveraux Cannick said.