R Kelly found guilty on child pornography charges

Musician R. Kelly, center, leaves the Daley Center after a hearing in his child support case on May 8, 2019, in Chicago. (Matt Marton/AP/File)

R&B artist R. Kelly was found guilty on several counts of child pornography and enticing underage females to have sex with him on Wednesday, but not guilty of impeding a 2008 state prosecution that resulted in his acquittal.

Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, was found guilty on six of thirteen counts in his most recent trial, according to prosecutors.

He was found guilty on three counts of child pornography and three counts of inciting juveniles to engage in sexual activity, but acquitted of seven other counts, including obstruction of justice and conspiracy to receive child pornography.

In Chicago, a single crime of child pornography has a minimum mandatory sentence of ten years.

The jury in U.S. District Court in Chicago reached its verdict after deliberating for 11 hours over two days.

Kelly is one of the most prominent individuals convicted of sexual misconduct during the #MeToo campaign against sexual harassment and abuse over the past few years.

Several women testified that Kelly sexually molested them as minors throughout the five-week trial. The jury also viewed a video of Kelly assaulting his goddaughter, who claimed that the abuse began as a teenager in the 1990s.

Kelly and both of his co-defendants, Milton "June" Brown and Derrel McDavid were cleared of child pornography conspiracy charges. In an earlier instance, Kelly and McDavid were also found not guilty of conspiracy to impede justice.

In the 2008 Illinois case in which Kelly was found not guilty of 14 charges of child pornography, the men were accused of attempting to bribe and threaten witnesses.

Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison in June following his conviction on racketeering and prostitution counts in a New York federal court. This trial exacerbated allegations that had trailed the Grammy-winning singer of "I Believe I Can Fly" for twenty years.

Additionally, Kelly faces state charges in Illinois and Minnesota.

Publish : 2022-09-15 09:28:00

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