R Kelly convicted of leading decades-long sex crime ring

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Web Desk
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R Kelly convicted of leading decades-long sex crime ring

Singer R Kelly - real name Robert Sylvester Kelly - has been found guilty of all charges in a sex trafficking trial after two days of deliberations in New York.

A New York jury of seven men and five women found the superstar singer guilty on all nine charges, including racketeering in a verdict announced Monday.

The charges were based on an argument that the entourage of managers and aides who helped the singer meet girls — and keep them obedient and quiet — amounted to a criminal enterprise.

Several accusers testified in lurid detail during the trial, alleging that Kelly subjected them to perverse and sadistic whims when they were underage.

The 54-year-old R&B musician's accusers testified without using their real names to protect their privacy and prevent possible harassment by the singer’s fans.

Jurors were shown homemade videos of Kelly engaging in sex acts that prosecutors said were not consensual.

Assistant US Attorney Maria Cruz Melendez argued that Kelly was a serial abuser who “maintained control over these victims using every trick in the predator handbook”.

R Kelly has been jailed without bail since in 2019. The trial was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic and Kelly’s last-minute shake-up of his legal team.