R. Kelly Found Guilty In Sex Trafficking & Racketeering Case

BYAron A.6.5K Views
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R. Kelly has been found guilty on all counts in his federal sex trafficking case in New York.

A federal jury has found R. Kelly guilty of racketeering in his sex trafficking case in New York, as reported by the New York Times and Chicago Tribute reporter Jason Meiser. Kelly is currently facing up to 20 years in prison for the racketeering charge alone. 

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Kelly was charged with one count of racketeering based on sexual exploitation of children, eight violations of the sex-trafficking statute, the Mann Act, as well as kidnapping and forced labor. The jury handed down the verdict around 3:00 p.m. on Monday. The jury determined Kelly was guilty of all charges. After being found guilty of all counts, Kelly is facing a maximum sentence of 100 years in prison.

The jury found that the evidence presented in the trial proved R. Kelly served as the ringleader of a sex trafficking scheme that involved sexual abuse and recruiting underage girls and young women for over 20 years. Since the trial's beginnings in August, 45 witnesses, including underaged men and women, testified against the singer. 

With the New York trial coming to an end, a trial will now be scheduled for federal child pornography and obstruction charges in Illinois. Kelly also has state charges filed against him in Illinois, as well as Minnesota, though he has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him.

We'll continue to keep you posted on any more updates regarding R. Kelly's trial.

About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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