R&B singer R. Kelly was found guilty by a federal jury in New York on the main racketeering count in the indictment.
The jury heard from 50 witnesses over six weeks and reached its verdict after deliberating for less than two full days.
According to The New York Times, R. Kelly’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 4, 2022. The star could spend decades in prison after the jury convicted him of racketeering and eight violations of an anti-sex-trafficking law.
Last week, Kelly’s defense attorney compared him to civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr during his closing arguments.
Nine women and two men testified in court that R. Kelly sexually abused them. Deveraux Cannick declared R. Kelly lived a “playboy life” because his record label depicted him as a sex symbol.
“Where’s the crime in that?” he asked. “You heard about a man who treated these women like gold. He bought them bags more expensive than cars.”
Cannick then invoked King Jr.’s “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech: “Somewhere I read of the freedom of assembly. Somewhere I read of the freedom of speech. Somewhere I read of the freedom of the press.”
The prosecution was sure to paint an entirely different picture of the embattled star.
“For decades, the defendant recruited and groomed women, girls and boys for his own sexual gratification,” Elizabeth Geddes, a lawyer for the prosecution, told the jury. “With the help of his inner circle, he slowly isolated his victims, set rules and exacted punishment. It is time to hold the defendant responsible for the pain he inflicted on each of his victims. It is now time for the defendant to pay for his crimes. Convict him.”
