Singer R. Kelly convicted of racketeering and sex trafficking by a federal jury in U.S
Singer R. Kelly convicted of racketeering and sex trafficking by a federal jury in U.S
Embattled American R&B singer, R. Kelly, was on Monday, September 27, found guilty of racketeering, including acts of bribery and sexual exploitation of a child, along with separate charges of sex trafficking.
In this federal case in the Eastern District of New York, Kelly faced a total of nine counts — one count of racketeering, with 14 underlying acts that included sexual exploitation of a child, kidnapping, bribery and sex trafficking charges, and also eight additional counts of violations of the Mann Act, a sex trafficking law.
A jury of seven men and five women found Kelly guilty of nine counts — one count of racketeering and eight counts of violating the Mann Act. Of the 14 underlying acts for the racketeering count, he needed to be found guilty of at least two to be convicted of that count, CNN reports.
Jurors found prosecutors had proven all but two of the 14 underlying racketeering acts. In all, Kelly could face decades in prison at sentencing, which is scheduled for May 4.
The verdict comes 13 years after Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, was acquitted of child pornography charges at an Illinois state trial.
An attorney for Kelly, however, said they are considering filing an appeal and are disappointed in the verdict.
