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Former pop star R. Kelly was convicted in court on Monday.
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R. Kelly gained notoriety as a musician as early as the 1990s.
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The ex-pop star only faces life imprisonment.
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In the abuse trial against R. Kelly (“I Believe I Can Fly”), the jury found the former pop superstar guilty on all nine counts. The seven men and five women announced on Monday in a court in New York. Robert Sylvester, as the musician’s real name is called, was charged, among other things, with the sexual exploitation of minors, kidnapping and bribery. Now the musician, who has been in prison since his arrest in summer 2019, faces a prison sentence of ten years to life.
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The process is – after cases like those of film producer Harvey Weinstein and comedian Bill Cosby – the next in the USA and worldwide much-noticed legal reappraisal of the #MeToo era. For around six weeks, the prosecution and defense at the court in Brooklyn, New York, had detailed the allegations of abuse against Kelly from several decades before Judge Ann Donnelly, disassembled them and presented their arguments. Dozens of witnesses had spoken and hundreds of pieces of evidence had been sighted.
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Kelly’s lawyer wanted to portray the musician as a victim
Kelly was a sex offender, had argued attorney Elizabeth Geddes for the prosecution and demanded his conviction. Kelly’s lawyer Deveraux Cannick argued for the defense that the musician was himself a victim – of made-up stories and embellished narratives about abuse. Kelly did not testify herself, but followed the trial in the courtroom.
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video-wrapper video-wrapper--inline">R. Kelly on allegations: “I fight for my life”(00:21)
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The first allegations against the musician, who was born in Chicago in 1967, became known about 25 years ago. In 2008 he was on trial for possession of pictures of serious child sexual abuse – and was acquitted. There are additional charges against Kelly in Illinois and Minnesota. (cat / SDA)
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