Jury Finds R. Kelly Guilty on All Counts in Federal Sex Trafficking Trial

What to KnowThe jury has reached a verdict in the R. Kelly sex-trafficking trial. The New York case was only part of the legal peril facing the singer, born Robert Sylvester Kelly. He also has pleaded not guilty to sex-related charges in Illinois and MinnesotaThe trial came at a close more than a decade after Kelly was acquitted in a 2008 child pornography case in Chicago After a weeks-long federal sex trafficking trial, R. Kelly has been found guilty on all counts by a federal jury in Brooklyn Monday. The anonymous jury made up of seven men and five women who have listened to witnesses and defenses from the R&B singer’s lawyer for over the past month announced they reached a verdict Monday afternoon. R. Kelly Sep 10 Witness Says R. Kelly Kept Her Locked Up, Barely Fed Her Before Sex Assault Kelly was charged with one count of racketeering, which has 14 underlying acts including kidnapping, forced labor, sex trafficking and bribery. The singer was also charged with eight counts of violating the Mann Act, which makes it illegal to transport anyone across state lines for any immoral purpose. Kelly, 54, has repeatedly denied accusations that behind the scenes of a 30-year career highlighted by his 1996 megahit “I Believe I Can Fly,” he was a sexual predator who groomed and exploited his young victims. His lawyers have portrayed the accusers as groupies seeking to take advantage of his fame. Though multiple female accusers and cooperating former associates who had never spoken publicly before about their experiences with Kelly, testified about how Kelly’s managers, bodyguards and other employees helped him recruit women and girls, and sometimes boys, for sexual exploitation. Witnesses say the group selected victims at concerts and other venues and arranged for them to travel to see Kelly in the New York City area and elsewhere, in violation of the Mann Act, the 1910 law that made it illegal to “transport any woman or girl” across state lines “for any immoral purpose.” The New York case was only part of the legal peril facing the singer, born Robert Sylvester Kelly. He also has pleaded not guilty to sex-related charges in Illinois and Minnesota. The trial came at a close more than a decade after Kelly was acquitted in a 2008 child pornography case in Chicago. It was a reprieve that allowed his music career to continue until the #MeToo era caught up with him, emboldening alleged victims to come forward. The women’s stories got wide exposure with the Lifetime documentary “Surviving R. Kelly.” The series explored how an entourage of supporters protected Kelly and silenced his victims for decades, foreshadowing the federal racketeering conspiracy case that landed Kelly in jail in 2019. This is a developing story.

The, Doctor