Image source: Forbes
Robert Sylvester Kelly, best known as R. Kelly, has been found guilty of child sexual abuse after a four-week case.
The disgraced artist was convicted on six out of 13 counts in his hometown of Chicago.
Warning: the following article contains sensitive content that readers may find disturbing
The news
In 2021, R. Kelly was convicted of sex trafficking and racketeering in New York, for which he was sentenced to 30 years in jail.
The most recent verdict is set to add years to his incarceration.
The verdict arrived on Wednesday, which found him guilty on three counts of enticing minors for sex and three counts of producing child sexual imagery.
However, the jury did not find him guilty of obstructing justice in his 2008 trial – a case that ended in acquittal.
Meanwhile, two of his former associates, both of whom were accused of fixing the 2008 trial, were acquitted of all charges.
Read also: R. Kelly and two former associates face charges for obstruction of justice
Jane
In 2008, the trial centered around a 30-minute video of the pedophile abusing a 14-year-old girl.
Taking the pseudonym Jane, the victim declined to testify in court back then, prompting jurors to acquit Kelly on all counts.
However, this year, Jane testified that she is the victim seen in the footage.
Now 37, she revealed that Kelly sexually abused her hundreds of times before turning 18.
The tape and two others were shown to jurors over the trial, and four other women accused Kelly of abusing them as children.
More than 30 witnesses testified.
The video
In the closing arguments on Monday, one juror suffered a panic attack upon the presentation of graphic descriptions of child abuse.
The juror was dismissed and replaced with an alternate juror.
Assistant US Attorney Elizabeth Pozolo spoke about the video wherein the pedophile was seen urinating on the girl.
“That degrading act is forever captured on that video. That abuse is forever memorialized.”
“Who does that?” Pozolo continued.
“Who uses a 14-year-old child to film a video like this? This man. Robert Kelly.”
Jennifer Bonjean, the disgraced artist’s lawyer, criticized prosecutors after the verdict was read.
She accused them of “charged counts that they couldn’t win.”
Bonjean also said the jurors did their jobs for acquitting the pedophile of half the charges.
“Obviously we are not celebrating a win, but are happy the jury looked at each count.”
Read also: “Trap Queen” rapper Fetty Wap pleads guilty to drug charge
September trial
During the September 2021 trial in New York, jurors heard about Kelly trafficking women for sexual abuse between different US states.
The actions were allegedly done with the assistance of managers, security guards, and other members of his entourage.
The media emphasized how the 2021 conviction marked the first time in the #MeToo movement brought black female accusers to the center stage in a major sex abuse trial.
In 2021, the court also caught wind of how the pedophilic artist obtained paperwork to marry then 15-year-old singer Aaliyah in 1994, seven years before her untimely death.
The marriage certificate was leaked at the time and listed Aaliyah’s age as 18.
However, the marriage was annulled months later.
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