R&B star R Kelly has been convicted in a sex trafficking trial following decades of allegations of misconduct with young women and children.
A US jury found Kelly guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking on their second day of deliberations.
During the case, the prosecution argued that Kelly's managers and aides helped the singer meet girls while keeping them obedient and quiet, which amounted to a criminal enterprise.
Many of Kelly's victims testified at the trial and alleged that Kelly subjected them to perverse and sadistic whims while they were underage.
Many testified without using their real names to protect their privacy and prevent them from possible harassment from the superstar's fans.
Jurors were shown homemade videos of Kelly engaging in sex acts that the prosecution 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”.
But Kelly's defence team labelled the accusers “groupies” and “stalkers”.
Defence attorney Deveraux Cannick questioned why the alleged victims stayed in relationships with Kelly if they thought they were being exploited.
“You made a choice,” Mr Cannick told one woman who testified, adding, “You participated of your own will.”
But today a jury of seven men and five women found Kelly guilty.
Kelly, born Robert Sylvester Kelly, has been jailed without bail since 2019. The trial was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic and Kelly’s last-minute shake-up of his legal team.
Rumours of inappropriate relationships with minors have followed Kelly for years, starting with his illegal marriage to R&B star Aaliyah in 1994. She was just 15 at the time.
Despite this, and a subsequent allegation that suggested he recorded himself sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl, he remained popular and continued to perform.
He only began to receive condemnation from the public after the release of a documentary series called Surviving R Kelly. The series gave a voice to his victims who had wondered if their stories were previously ignored because they were black women.
