R&B superstar R Kelly has been convicted in a high-profile sex trafficking trial in the United States on Monday. Kelly’s conviction comes after decades of evading criminal responsibility and prosecution despite numerous allegations of misconduct with underage women and children.

On the second day of deliberations, a jury of seven men and five women found Kelly, born Robert Sylvester Kelly, guilty of all nine counts, including racketeering, sex trafficking, bribery, and sexual abuse.

The 54-years-old singer faces the possibility of decades in prison for his crimes. One of the charges brought against Kelly was the violation of the Mann Act, an anti-sex trafficking law that prohibits taking anyone across state lines “for any immoral purpose”.

After the verdict in federal court in Brooklyn, the court scheduled the sentencing for May 4.

In the government’s case, the prosecutors alleged that Kelly’s legion of managers and associates helped him meet underage girls and keep them obedient and quiet. The prosecutors said that the regime amounted to a criminal enterprise. Two other people have been charged with Kelly in a separate federal case pending in Chicago.

Deveraux Cannick, one of Kelly’s lawyers, expressed his disappointment at the verdict and underlined his intention to appeal the judgement.

Cannick said, “I think I’m even more disappointed the government brought the case in the first place, given all the inconsistencies.”

Talking to the reporters outside, a lawyer for some of Kelly’s accusers, Gloria Allred, said that “Mr Kelly is the worst” of all the predators she had gone after, including Harvey Weinstein and Jeffrey Epstein.

During the trial, numerous accusers testified the horrifying details of the alleged abuse Kelly had subjected them to when they were underage.

Several of Kelly’s accusers testified at the trial without using their real names to protect their privacy. The prosecutors showed the jurors homemade videos of Kelly engaging in sexual acts that the government lawyers said were not consensual. The defence called the accusers “groupies” and “stalkers”.

The allegations against Kelly – widely dubbed as the King of R&B – were ignored for years. The cast majority of public and news media seemed to be more amused than horrified by the accusations. Kelly’s illegal marriage to the now-deceased R&B sensation Aaliyah in 1994 – when she was just 15 – did not really affect the general attitude toward the acclaimed songwriter amidst the rumours and accusations regarding his inappropriate relationships with minors.

Kelly, rather, thrived on the notoriety as his records and concert tickets kept selling. Even after his arrest in 2002, other artists continued to record his songs. He was accused of making a recording of himself sexually abusing and urinating on a 14-year-old girl.

The 2019 docuseries titled “Surviving R. Kelly” – amidst the #MeToo campaign – yielded widespread public condemnation. The uproar gave a voice to the accusers who had remained silent due to the relative social apathy toward the victims of sexual abuse, especially if they are Black women.

Earlier on Monday, acting US Attorney Jacquelyn Kasulis said, “To the victims in this case, your voices were heard and justice was finally served.”

Since 2019, Robert Sylvester Kelly has been jailed without bail. The New York case is only one of a long list of legal proceedings pending against the singer. In addition to the pending Chicago case, Kelly is also facing sex-related cases in Illinois and Minnesota. Trial dates in those cases have not been set thus far.

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