R. Kelly, The R&B Star, Found Guilty of All Counts and Faces Life in Prison
3 min read
R. Kelly’ judgment on all nine charges against him is certainly a great milestone in the Me Too campaign. Both for Black females and the music business, signaling that justice has ultimately been serve. Mr. Kelly’s arrest was a startling reversal for a guy who was formerly one of R&B’s greatest talents. It followed the very first Me Too-era lawsuit, which saw the vast majority of victims being Black women.
But after all these years, the ultimate justice is serving now. After decades of escaping criminal accountability for multiple claims of misbehavior with young women and kids. R. Kelly, the R&B singer famous for his song ‘I Believe I Can Fly,’ proves guilty Monday in a sex trafficking lawsuit.
Just on the second day of proceedings, a panel of seven men and five women convicted Kelly. 54, criminally responsible for all nine charges, involving racketeering. Kelly sat still with gaze downcast as the decision was to announce in federal court in Brooklyn, wearing a face mask.
Evidence against R. Kelly
Prosecutors relied heavily on facts available by R. Kelly directly to charge him. As per Ryan Chabot, the main federal researcher in the investigation. Kelly obsessively gathered communication notes and personal letters from the females he connected with – many of whom were minors. Chabot said he looked through the material found in the musician’s Chicago residence and storage locker after numerous inspections.
However, the decision has raised a crucial question: Victims have claimed that the musician’s mistreatment started in the early 1990s.
R. Kelly will be imprisoned by the same federal judge who presided over his conspiracy and sex trafficking trials in Brooklyn on May 4 at 10 a.m. Mr. Kelly, 54, faces a sentence of up to ten years imprisonment.
The coming months will be hectic. Mr. Kelly’s attorneys can submit petitions to reverse the decision in the coming weeks. R. Kelly is also facing accusations in at least 2 other jurisdictions. Involving federal child pornography charges as well as disruption allegations in Chicago. That case has been delay many times, with no new deadline established. A court date has been official for Oct. 20 in that matter.
Why it took so long to serve justice?
Alongside him, the singer had a community of supporters. He used the straightforward tactic of “purchase or blackmail.”
According to the authorities, there is a “compensation machine”. Giving proof of Kelly’s payouts to women making allegations in return for their quiet.
In final statements, one prosecution, Elizabeth Geddes, claimed R. Kelly “employed his subordinates to threaten people and pursue retribution,”. Trying to blackmail victims with naked pictures of themselves.
Kelly was also alleged of bribing eyewitnesses. To just not cooperate with law enforcement in the run-up to his 2008 case. And conviction by the department of justice. They said the musician warned several bystanders that if they continued, they would face “actual aggression.”
Vanshika Batra
Vanshika is a Law student, blogger. She looks at life with endless possibilities and spreads that idea through her writing. She keeps on meandering and connecting with the world through her ideas framing into sentences.
