R. Kelly, a famous American musician, was found guilty of federal child pornography charges.
R Kelly was found guilty on Wednesday of recording himself torturing his goddaughter, who is 14 years old. The victim’s current age is 37. The verdict was made following a trial that lasted one month in Chicago.
According to reports, the jury rendered a guilty verdict after deliberating for over 11 hours starting on Tuesday afternoon on six of the 13 charges Kelly was charged with, including three child pornography offences. In Chicago, the obligatory minimum penalty for one of these crimes is five to ten years.
It’s vital to note that this sentence is in addition to the 30-year prison term he received in June of this year. In a different federal case in Brooklyn, he was found guilty of racketeering and trafficking in sex in June.
Kelly was accused of manipulating his 2008 state trial, in which he was found not guilty on charges of child pornography. Kelly was also charged with recording himself while having intercourse with girls who weren’t of legal age.
The jury acquitted him on Wednesday of the conspiracy charge that he had rigged his last trial, according to reports. The jury also exonerated him of three counts of conspiracy to receive child pornography and two more charges of enticement.
Reportedly, the prosecution said during the trial that R. Kelly was a “sexual predator” who had taken advantage of his notoriety to prey on young girls and record the assault.
The fallen hero, whose real name is Robert Kelly, “committed heinous acts against children…All these years later, the hidden side of Robert Kelly has come out,” Assistant US Attorney Elizabeth Pozolo told the jury.
The media reports further alleged that the prosecution’s case against the singer included gruesome footage of Kelly beating his teenage goddaughter, who gave incriminating testimony against him.