R. Kelly, the disgraced R&B star who has long faced allegations of sexual abuse, has been convicted on racketeering and sex trafficking charges.
The jury in Kelly's criminal trial on Monday found the "I Believe I Can Fly" singer guilty on all counts, CBS News reports. Prosecutors charged Kelly with racketeering and sex trafficking, accusing him of running a criminal enterprise that for two decades allowed him to recruit victims to sexually abuse.
Jurors heard testimony from eleven witnesses who accused Kelly of abuse, and the trial also included testimony regarding his illegal underage marriage to the late singer Aaliyah when she was 15. During a closing argument, assistant U.S. attorney Elizabeth Geddes emphasized that Kelly was allegedly able to abuse his victims due to his circle of "enablers," arguing that "without his inner circle, the defendant could not have carried out the crimes he carried out for as long as he did." Kelly's defense contended that the accusers "knew exactly what they were getting into" and engaged in consensual sexual relationships with him.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Kelly denied all of the allegations of underage sexual abuse against him, which gained additional scrutiny in the wake of a 2019 Lifetime documentary series, Surviving R. Kelly, that included interviews with his accusers. A 2017 BuzzFeed News report on the singer's alleged "mental and physical abuse of several women" also fueled calls to boycott Kelly's music and the hashtag #MuteRKelly. He was charged in 2019, but the trial was delayed due to the pandemic.
This was Kelly's second time on trial. He previously faced child pornography charges in connection with a tape that allegedly showed him engaging in sexual conduct with an underage girl, but he was acquitted in 2008. After being convicted in this latest trial, though, Kelly could be facing potential life in prison. According to CNN, his sentencing is scheduled to take place on May 4.
-
5 museum-grade cartoons about Trump's Smithsonian purgeCartoons Artists take on institutional rebranding, exhibit interpretation, and more
-
Settling the West Bank: a death knell for a Palestine state?In the Spotlight The reality on the ground is that the annexation of the West Bank is all but a done deal
-
Codeword: August 23, 2025The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
