R. Kelly, a disgraced R&B musician, was found guilty of federal child pornography charges related to films he made in which he physically and sexually abused his goddaughter, who was 14 at the time.
After a month-long trial in Chicago, Kelly’s hometown, jurors saw clips from the distressing tape and heard evidence from the victim, now 37 and named only as Jane.
Twelve hours of deliberation began on Tuesday afternoon, and the jury found Kelly guilty on six of the thirteen accusations against him; these included three counts of child pornography. A conviction on even one offense lasts five to ten years in Chicago.
Added to the 30-year sentence the I Believe I Can Fly singer received in June for sex trafficking and racketeering in a different federal case in Brooklyn, this is a significant increase in his time behind bars.
Kelly, 55, was cleared of child porn charges in a state trial in 2008 despite allegations that he had recorded himself engaging in sexual acts with minors and had rigged the trial.
On Wednesday, jurors found him not guilty of the conspiracy allegation that claimed he had tampered with his first trial to gain an advantage. The jury dismissed additional accusations of enticement and conspiring to receive child pornography.
The former company manager and co-defendant Derrell McDavid was also accused of conspiring to obstruct justice by manipulating Kelly’s trial in 2008. Kelly’s associate Milton Brown was also charged with conspiring to receive child porn. The publication said that both were acquitted of all charges.
At his trial, the prosecutor claimed that the Ignition singer had exploited his popularity to sexually abuse minors and film the incidents.
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Assistant US Attorney Elizabeth Pozolo told the jury that the late star’s full name, Robert Kelly, was appropriate because he molested many girls for years. He committed horrific crimes against minors… Robert Kelly’s inner darkness is finally being revealed after all these years.
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