Singer R Kelly found guilty of child sex abuse in second US trial

15 September 2022, 09:29 | Updated: 15 September 2022, 09:32

Disgraced former R&B star R Kelly has been found guilty of child sexual abuse and producing child pornography.

The singer, real name Robert Sylvester Kelly, was convicted of six out of the 13 counts in the Chicago trial lasting four weeks.

The court heard that the 55-year-old singer lured three underage girls into having sex with him and produced three child sexual abuse videos.

Kelly is already serving a 30-year sentence in New York for sex trafficking and racketeering, after being found guilty in 2021.

The latest verdict is expected to now add years to his sentence. On last years verdict alone, Kelly will not be released until he is around 80-years-old.

At Wednesday's trial, Kelly was acquitted for fixing a 2008 state trial on child pornography charges. Two of his former associates, including his business manager, Darrel McDavid, were also accused of fixing the 2008 trial. They were cleared of all charges.

The recent trial and the 2008 trial both centred around the same 30-minute video of Kelly abusing a child. The then 14-year-old girl, known by the pseudonym “Jane” previously refused to testify in court in the 2008 trial. Now 37, Jane testified to the court that she was the child in the footage. Jane said that Kelly had sexually abused her hundreds of times.

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Four other women accused Kelly of abusing them as children. More than 30 witnesses testified in the trial.

The jury heard graphic descriptions and testimonies and watched portions of videos were Kelly abuses the young girl. The US Attorney Elizabeth Pozolo described one video of Kelly urinating on a young girl. One juror suffered a panic attack and had to be replaced by an alternate juror.

The “I Believe I Can Fly” and “Bump N’ Grind” singer sold millions of albums throughout his career and has faced allegations of sexual abuse since the 1990s.

In 1994, Kelly, then aged 27, secretly married a 15-year-old in Chicago. The marriage was then annulled after the 15-year-old was found to have lied about her age on the marriage certificate.

Kelly was also previously acquitted of 21 counts of producing child pornography in 2002.

Two further trials are currently pending in the state of Minnesota and another in Chicago.