R Kelly trial: Singer faces decades in jail after jury verdict finds him guilty in sex trafficking case
It took jury less than a day of deliberations to reach decision
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Singer R Kelly has been convicted by a jury in New York on charges of racketeering and sex trafficking at the end of a six-week trial.
The jury returned its guilty verdict in a Brooklyn courtroom on Monday afternoon, after less than a day of deliberations.
Kelly sat motionless as the convictions against him were read out.
He was charged with racketeering predicated on criminal conduct including sexual exploitation of children, kidnapping, forced labor and Mann Act violations involving the coercion and transportation of women and girls in interstate commerce to engage in illegal sexual activity.
He was also charged with four counts of violating the Mann Act related to his interstate transportation of a victim to New York to engage in illegal sexual activity, and his exposure of her to an infectious venereal disease without her knowledge.
Kelly had pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing but he will now be sentenced on 4 May and faces decades behind bars.
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A jury of seven men and five women has reached a verdict in R Kelly’s federal trial.
The verdict hasn’t been announced yet but is expected to be revealed soon. The judge in the case has summoned the parties to a courtroom in Brooklyn for the verdict to be read.
The jury began deliberating on Friday afternoon, meaning the verdict was reached after less than a full day of deliberations.
Singer faces string of charges
Kelly has been on trial in New York on one count of racketeering, with 14 underlying acts that included sexual exploitation of a child, kidnapping, bribery, and sex trafficking charges.
The singer was also charged with eight additional counts of violations of the Mann Act, a sex trafficking law.
Racketeering is most commonly used in organised crime cases but can also be used to prosecute any ongoing coordinated illegal scheme or criminal enterprise to carry out a common purpose.
R Kelly convicted after short jury deliberation
Kelly had been on trial in New York and was found guilty on one count of racketeering, with 14 underlying acts that included sexual exploitation of a child, kidnapping, bribery, and sex trafficking charges.
The singer was also charged with eight additional counts of violations of the Mann Act, a sex trafficking law.
The jury were only given the case on Friday afternoon and returned a verdict on Monday afternoon.
Verdict is first conviction against singer after 20 years of allegations
The verdict is the first criminal conviction against R Kelly. In 2008, he was acquitted by a Cook County jury of child pornography charges alleging he videotaped himself having sex with a girl as young as 13.
R Kelly sat ‘motionless’ in courtroom as he was convicted
Singer sat motionless in court as he was convicted of nine counts of the racketeering and sex-trafficking charges against him, according to The New York Times.
R Kelly will be sentenced on 4 May
The singer will be sentence on 4 May after being convicted in Brooklyn, New York, on racketeering and sex trafficking charges.
Kelly was convicted by a jury of seven men and five women in federal court after just two days of deliberations.
The R&B star’s lawyer said they are disappointed with verdict and considering an appeal, according to CNN.
Gloria Allred welcomes R Kelly verdict
The women’s rights attorney represented a number of the women for whom charges were filed, and spoke about the verdict outside the Brooklyn courthouse.
“We understand that justice moves at a glacial pace,” she said about the decades it has taken to convict Kelly.
Kelly’s longstanding lawyer defends singer and slams verdict
“We are extraordinarily disappointed in the verdict was returned by the New York jury today. Mike Leonard and myself believe that the verdict was not supported by the evidence and instead is a reflection of the hysteria whipped up by a couple of TV shows,” said Steve Greenberg on Twitter.
“We intend to continue to fight on R Kelly’s behalf to ensure that everything is being done that can possibly be done.”
Mr Greenberg and Michael Leonard asked the federal judge to step back from the case weeks before it began, with other lawyers in the case saying that the two were fired by Kelly.
Acting US Attorney reacts to R Kelly convictions
“No one deserves what they experienced at his hands or the threats and harassment they faced in telling the truth about what happened to them,” Jacquelyn Kasulis, acting U.S. attorney, says after the singer was convicted on all charges at his racketeering and sex trafficking trial.
“We hope that today’s verdict brings some measure of comfort and closure.”
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