Robert Kelly, better known by his stage name R. Kelly, an embattled American musician, was found guilty of sex offences, including creating images depicting child sexual abuse and pressuring juveniles into sex activities.
The 12-member jury found Mr. Kelly guilty on six of the 13 charges against him on Wednesday, September 14.
He was found guilty of manufacturing three child sex abuse recordings and forcing three children into illegal sex acts, all of which, according to the prosecution, involved the same 14-year-old girl.
R. Kelly was exonerated of trying to thwart an earlier inquiry into his abuse. As part of an alleged conspiracy to recover videotapes, the jury also found him not guilty of receiving and conspiring to receive child sex abuse material.
His two co-defendants, associates Derrel McDavid and Milton Brown, were found not guilty on all charges. Jurors acquitted McDavid, a longtime Kelly business manager, who was accused of conspiring with Kelly to rig the 2008 trial. Brown, a Kelly associate for years, was acquitted of receiving child pornography.
R. Kelly, 55, had already been sentenced to 30 years in prison in June 2022 after a jury in Brooklyn convicted him of racketeering and s3x trafficking charges.
Based on that sentence, he won’t be eligible for release until he is around 80.
Despite claims of sex abuse dating back more than three decades, R. Kelly’s conviction in June was the first time he had been charged with a crime in connection with those allegations.
Wednesday’s conviction in Chicago could add years to that prison sentence.
