American R&B singer, R. Kelly has been found guilty in sex trafficking, racketeering trial in the United States.
The musician was convicted on Monday, 27th September, on all nine counts including racketeering and violations of the Mann Act, which prohibits the transport of “any woman or girl” across state lines for any “immoral purpose.”
He faces life in prison for sexually abusing women, boys and girls for decades.
The jury of seven men and five women deliberated for about nine hours across two days before reaching their unanimous verdict.
“This case is not about a celebrity who likes to party a lot. This case is about a predator,” Assistant US Attorney Maria Cruz Melendez said at the beginning of the case.
Late R&B singer Aaliyah, was one of his victims. Kelly illegally wedded her in a Chicago hotel room in 1994, when she was 15 years old.
For the illicit nuptials to move forward, the music star relied on his entourage, prosecutors showed.
Monday’s verdict in federal court in Brooklyn comes just over 2 years after Kelly was arrested in Chicago for multiple federal sex crimes in 2 different states.
Kelly’s legal team called a handful of ex-Kelly employees and associates to take the stand in an effort to discredit allegations the singer sexually abused women, girls and boys.
