R.Kelly Found Guilty of All Charges

R&B musician R.Kelly was found guilty of racketeering in a high-profile sex-trafficking case after a long trail of sexual misbehavior and abuse allegations.

Since he was initially charged in 2019, the singer has been in detention and on trial in New York for one count of racketeering, with 14 underlying actions including sexual exploitation of a child, kidnapping, bribery, and sex trafficking allegations.

He was then charged with eight additional charges of violating the Mann Act, a sex trafficking legislation that prohibits transporting persons across state boundaries “for any immoral purpose.”

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Though R.Kelly the brain behind “I Believe I Can Fly,” pleaded not guilty to all charges in the case and did not take the stand in his own defense, prosecutors in the trial, which centered on six people’s allegations, claimed that the singer was a serial sexual predator who abused young women as well as underage girls and boys for more than two decades.

Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York effectively demonstrated to a jury of seven men and five women that Kelly was the leader of a criminal business aimed at luring girls, boys, and women to the R&B artist for sexual enjoyment.

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During a two-day closing argument, Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Geddes accused Kelly and his entourage of employing strategies from “the predator playbook” to control their victims.

His alleged tactics included keeping victims in hotel rooms or his recording studio, controlling when they could eat and use the restroom, and forcing them to obey numerous “rules,” including requiring they call him “Daddy.”

During the five-week trial, fifty prosecution and defense witnesses testified, including victims named as “Jane Does” in Kelly’s indictments.

There were 45 witnesses for the prosecution.He was found guilty of six counts of sexual exploitation of a child, bribery, kidnapping, racketeering, and sex trafficking.

His sentence hearing in New York is set for May 4, 2022. Kelly could face a prison sentence ranging from 10 years to life.