Jurors began deliberating on Tuesday, Sept. 13, at R. Kelly’s federal trial in Chicago, sorting through a month of evidence and arguments on charges accusing the singer of producing child pornography, enticing minors for sex and rigging his 2008 child porn trial.
A woman who has been central to R. Kelly’s legal troubles for more than two decades testified Thursday that the R&B singer sexually abused her “hundreds” of times before she turned 18 and that it was her and Kelly in a videotape that was at the heart of his 2008 child pornography trial, at which he was acquitted.
Disgraced R&B superstar R. Kelly was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in prison for using his fame to sexually abuse young fans, including some who were just children, in a systematic scheme that went on for decades.
Justice means giving someone what he or she deserves. Finally, after facing numerous allegations of sexual misconduct, payoffs to victims and unpopular acquittals singer R. Kelly was found guilty of racketeering and eight counts of sex trafficking in a Brooklyn federal courtroom. The jury found him guilty of being the ringleader in a decades-long criminal enterprise to recruit women and underage girls for sex. Allegations of inappropriate sexual relationships with minors have swirled around R Kelly for years, especially after his illegal marriage to the R&B singer Aaliyah in 1994 when she was just fifteen. The term racketeering is usually associated with organized crime, referring to a group of individuals that attempt to extort, coerce or otherwise create some type of scheme or a racket. In the case of R Kelly, the court and prosecutors felt that his expansive entourage of staff and enablers around the musician constituted a criminal enterprise.
A jury of seven men and five women in a federal court in Brooklyn, New York, found Robert Sylvester Kelly, 54, guilty of all nine counts
R. Kelly, the R&B superstar known for his anthem “I Believe I Can Fly,” was convicted Monday in a sex trafficking trial after decades of avoiding criminal responsibility for numerous allegations of misconduct with young women and children.
After several delays, the first phase of the sex trafficking trial of R&B hitmaker R. Kelly started Monday with jury selection in New York City.
It’s been more than three years since the (hash)MeToo movement launched a culture-shifting conversation about sexual violence. But Tarana Burke, the activist who gave the movement its name, says concrete change has been incremental at best _ and especially for Black survivors.
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CHICAGO (AP) — A judge has set an April 27 trial date in R. Kelly’s federal case in Chicago that accuses the R&B star of child pornography and obstruction of justice. But the judge said at a Wednesday status hearing the date could be moved since the 52-year-old faces similar cases in three other judicial districts. Kelly stood in court in orange jail clothes, his hands behind his back. Several supporters waved at Kelly as he was led back to jail and he nodded in their direction. Kelly attorney Steve Greenberg told the hearing that having to prepare for four
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Lifetime is still invested in the R. Kelly case. The network announced Tuesday that it has ordered “Surviving R. Kelly: The Aftermath,” a four-part series that includes interviews with new survivors and experts on the case. ″Surviving R. Kelly ” was a six-part series that premiered last January. An estimated 12.8 million people watched the series, nominated for an Emmy, that revisited old allegations and brought new ones into the spotlight. Kelly has been in custody since being indicted this month on charges in Chicago and New York. He’s accused of having sex with minors and
“If he was attracted to middle school girls in 1999 then he’s still attracted to middle school girls,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Angel Krull told U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber. “That’s who the defendant is and that, your honor, makes him a danger today.”
CHICAGO (AP) — Singer R. Kelly was arrested in Chicago Thursday after he was indicted on 13 federal counts including sex crimes, a U.S. Attorney’s office spokesman said. Joseph Fitzpatrick said the R&B singer was taken into custody about 7 p.m. local time and was being held by federal authorities. He was arrested after a 13-count federal indictment was handed down earlier Thursday in federal court for the Northern District of Illinois. “The counts include child porn, enticement of a minor and obstruction of justice,” Fitzpatrick said, adding that further details would be released later Friday. The arrest was the
CHICAGO (AP) — A judge who ordered a default judgment against R. Kelly after the singer failed to respond to a lawsuit filed by one of his alleged victims now says the suit can proceed. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Cook County Judge Moira Johnson on Wednesday reinstated the lawsuit after Kelly’s attorneys said the singer never responded to it because he’s illiterate and couldn’t read the documents when he was served with them. The lawsuit was filed by a woman identified as “H.W.,” who is one of the four women that Kelly is charged in a criminal case with
R Kelly / Courtesy Photo Los Angeles, CA – Following the debut of the record-breaking premiere of Lifetime’s Surviving R. Kelly this past January, the network will debut a two-hour follow-up special, Surviving R Kelly: The Impact, detailing the conversations and reactions ignited by the powerful documentary series. Hosted by award-winning journalist Soledad O’Brien, Surviving R Kelly: The Impact is set to premiere Saturday, May 4th at 10pm ET/PT and highlights the impact the documentary has had on our culture globally, how it has elevated the conversation on sexual violence and what it means to be a survivor. In the days following the debut of Surviving