After decades of evading criminal responsibility for countless criminal allegations against young women and children, R.Kelly, the multiplatinum R&B artist known for his song “I Believe I Can Fly,” was convicted Monday in a sex trafficking trial.
During the intense six-week trial, eleven accusers – nine women and two men – testified of sexual humiliation and violence at his hands.
The singer was found guilty of all nine counts against him, including racketeering and eight violations of the Mann Act, by a jury in New York after nearly nine hours of deliberation. Despite a long history of claims of wrongdoing, this is Kelly’s first punishment.
His six-week trial revealed a horrifying system of trauma and torture orchestrated by the musician and aided by his entourage. Sentencing is due on 4 May, and he could spend the rest of his life behind bars.
The Trial
Known for the 1996 Grammy-winning smash “I Believe I Can Fly,” Kelly, 54, pleaded not guilty to all nine counts.
He was one of the most well-known people accused of sexual misconduct during the #MeToo movement, highlighting allegations that had haunted him since the early 2000s.
Many of Kelly’s accusers were African-American, which set the case apart from the recent #MeToo convictions of comic Bill Cosby and movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.Â
Prosecutors tried to paint R.Kelly as a predator who exploited his celebrity and magnetism over a quarter-century to entice women and underage children into his orbit. He then subjected them to horrific physical and sexual abuse, some of which he videotaped.
Defense lawyers countered that Kelly’s accusers, on the other hand, are liars searching for a windfall through book contracts or the media after their relationships with Kelly or hoped-for music careers never took off.
Prosecutors sharing their stories
Prosecutors showed how his managers, security guards, and other entourage members assisted him in his illicit activity during the trial.
It featured a massive heap of evidence, including text messages that conferred the real-time distress that some of Kelly’s employees shared about his handling of women.
It also had several videos and audio recordings, which depicted the singer violently assaulting a woman and threatening her life.
In a written statement released following the verdict, one woman who testified that Kelly was imprisoned, drugged, and raped her said she had “been hiding” from Kelly due to threats made against her since she went public with her allegations.
“I’m ready to start living my life free of fear and to begin the healing process,” the woman, who was given the name Sonja in court, continued. Kelly’s victims were bound to mental agony, according to court filings.
He made them call him “Daddy” and wouldn’t let them eat or use the bathroom without his permission. He also dictated what clothes they wore.Â
Rob’s rules
Kelly was convicted of child pornography allegations 13 years ago following a trial in the state of Illinois. Kelly’s claimed victims included the late singer Aaliyah, whom he married briefly and unlawfully when she was 15 in 1994. Aaliyah died in a plane crash in 2001.
The allegations heard in the case were first put out in the 2019 documentary Surviving R Kelly.
Victims were occasionally chosen from the public at his concerts or sometimes persuaded to join him after being offered assistance with their budding music careers during fortuitous contacts with the singer.
However, once they joined his group, victims discovered that they were subjected to stringent regulations and brutally punished if they broke what his team had called “Rob’s rules”.
The punishment includes skin-tearing spankings to ordering one woman to smear faeces on her face and eat them.
Mr. Kelly is the worst
The defender who compared singer Kelly to Martin Luther King couldn’t convince the jury. The trial was notable because it was the first time women and men testified against Kelly to accuse him of sexual assault, including those who had never shared their stories publicly.
Several women who claimed Kelly had assaulted them applauded his conviction on Monday, calling it a long-awaited condemnation of the artist and a meaningful validation of his victims’ testimonies.
Jerhonda Pace stated on Instagram, “Today, my voice was heard.” When Pace took the stand last month, she became the first complainant to testify against Kelly in criminal prosecution.
A lawyer who represented multiple victims, Gloria Allred, told reporters: “I’ve been practicing law for 47 years. During this time, I’ve pursued many sexual predators who have committed crimes against women and children. Of all the predators that I have pursued, Mr. Kelly is the worst.”
