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Tribune News Service
Tribune News Service
Entertainment
Joseph Wilkinson

YouTube takes down 2 R. Kelly channels after sex trafficking conviction

YouTube removed two official R. Kelly channels from its platform Tuesday, one week after the R&B superstar was convicted of nine counts of sex trafficking.

Kelly’s music is still available on YouTube, just not through his official channels.

YouTube pulled the channels because Kelly was convicted of using his celebrity to lure women and girls into his sex trafficking scheme, NBC News reported.

Kelly will be prohibited from ever re-creating a YouTube channel, though he won’t have to worry about that while he is in prison. He will be sentenced May 4.

His music is also still available on other streaming services, including Spotify and Apple Music.

Kelly was convicted Sept. 27 of operating a long-running sex trafficking scheme of women and girls while he rose to R&B stardom. More than 40 witnesses testified at his trial in New York, including 11 victims.

“Today’s guilty verdict forever brands R. Kelly as a predator, who used his fame and fortune to prey on the young, the vulnerable, and the voiceless for his own sexual gratification,” acting Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Jacquelyn Kasulis said after the trial.

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