On September 14th, one year after R&B singer R. Kelly was found guilty of multiple federal charges including racketeering and sex trafficking, the singer has been found guilty yet again.
As Mamas Uncut previously reported, after being sentenced for those crimes in June, R. Kelly stood trial again, this time for child pornography.
R. Kelly Found Guilty of More Federal Charges for the Second Time in One Year
According to reports, the disgraced R&B star had videotapes of his then-14-year-old goddaughter in which he sexually abused her. A federal jury in Chicago found him guilty of those charges after about 11 hours of deliberation.
Now Kelly will be sentenced in the future for the sexual exploitation of “Jane” for the purpose of producing child pornography. According to the Chicago Tribune, those charges carry a minimum of 10 years in prison.
The Tribune further reported that R. Kelly while dressed in a blue suit and tie and wearing black sunglasses showed no emotion and had very little reaction to the verdicts being read aloud.
Kelly was also charged with conspiracy to receive child pornography. Those charges he was acquitted of.
This isn’t the first time Kelly faced a jury for similar charges. You may recall his infamous trial that took place 14 years ago.
According to The Tribune, prosecutors alleged that Jane “lied to a state grand jury investigating that tape, claiming she wasn’t the girl depicted and that she and Kelly had never had a sexual relationship. Her absence at the 2008 trial was the defining factor in the jury’s finding of not guilty.”
However, in this current case, prosecutors said Jane’s silence wasn’t an accident, instead, it was “the result of a yearslong criminal conspiracy by Kelly and his co-defendants to keep Jane and other minor victims from cooperating with law enforcement and to buy back and cover up incriminating sex videos Kelly had made,” The Tribune reported.
As Mamas Uncut reported back in June 2022, the R&B singer was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Now he will spend several more years in prison on top of that for these recent charges.
During this 3-hour hearing, Kelly did not address the court, The Wall Street Journal reports. Kelly appeared to have no reaction after receiving the sentence as well.
RELATED: R. Kelly Faces Charges For Tape Of Him Sexually Abusing And Urinating On 14-Year-Old Girl
In victim statements made by some of his victims, one woman said, “You made me do things that broke my spirit. I literally wished I would die because of how low you made me feel. Do you remember that,” the woman asked.
Another woman said Kelly’s conviction restored her faith after losing hope.
Kelly was originally found guilty of these charges on September 27, 2021.
This trial was unprecedented in that other than the jury, no other members of the public were allowed in the courtroom. Members of the media and others were put into a separate courtroom where it is believed that they observed the trial on screen.
As CNN reported, this is so that the jurors could be shown “key audio and video evidence” that the public could not see. US District Judge Ann Donnelly described these recordings in court as “somewhat upsetting.” The jurors’ reaction to this particular evidence was also shielded from the public.
The trial included 45 prosecution witnesses, which included victims who were only identified as “Jane Does.”
According to CNN, one of the victims identified as Stephanie said she met Kelly when she was 17 and he invited her into his studio. “I remember him asking me my age,” Stephanie testified. “When I said I was 17, he said it was fine.”
She went on to recall Kelly sexually abusing her in the studio and recording it. They met again on her 18th birthday after he paid to have her fly out to see him. “She described fearing his angry outbursts, saying he would yell at her in public places,” as a result, she stopped communicating with the R&B singer.
One victim, identified as Sonja, said R. Kelly locked her in a room while visiting him at his studio. He kept her there for days. She was only allowed out to use the bathroom and shower. “I was sexually assaulted,” Sonja testified. “There was something in me that wasn’t wanted.”
Kelly’s attorney says they are considering an appeal and that they are obviously disappointed with the verdict that was handed down. Thirteen years ago Kelly was acquitted of child pornography charges in Illinois.
Kelly has always maintained his innocence.
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