R. Kelly appears during a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse on September 17, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois.
R. Kelly appears during a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse on September 17, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois.
Photo by Antonio Perez via Getty Images.

R. Kelly Found Guilty of Racketeering and Sex Trafficking, Facing Decades in Prison

A Brooklyn jury found R Kelly guilty of all charges in the first of several trials pertaining to allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct.

R Kelly has been convicted of racketeering and sex trafficking by a federal jury.

According to The New York Times, a Brooklyn jury found Kelly guilty of all charges on Monday after nine hours of deliberation, placing the disgraced r&b singer at the center of a plot to recruit and transport women and underage girls for sex. During the six-week trial, Kelly's legal team claimed he was blindsided by the accusations of his victims and that any sexual exploits with his accusers were entirely consensual. Prosecutors, on the other hand, brought up nearly four dozen witnesses to testify against the singer, outlining a disturbing schematic of how Kelly and his enablers preyed on women and young girls for nearly 30 years.

Kelly is currently facing decades in prison for the charges. But there could be even more tacked on in the months to come. Today's ruling by the Brooklyn jury ends the first of a series of trials pertaining to allegations of sexual abuse, trafficking, and misconduct. Kelly faces additional charges for state and federal violations (including a revived child pornography charge,) in Minnesota (where his legal team failed to show up for trial,) and Illinois (where he was initially taken into custody on July 11th, 2019.)

The singer was indicted within days of being arrested in 2019. He pleaded not guilty to all charges and has maintained his innocence throughout all of the trials. Dates have yet to be set for the remaining trials.

This is a developing story. Stay tuned for updates in the weeks and months ahead.

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