R. Kelly has been found guilty on all charges in his ongoing sex trafficking case.
The embattled R&B singer was found guilty on Monday of one count of racketeering and eight counts of violating the anti-sex trafficking Mann Act, according to NBC News.
The US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York confirmed the news on Twitter writing, “R. Kelly found guilty on ALL COUNTS.”
R. Kelly found guilty on ALL COUNTS
— US Attorney EDNY (@EDNYnews) September 27, 2021
The 54-year-old, whose legal name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, faces decades in prison and is set to be sentenced on May 4, 2022.
The disgraced superstar pleaded not guilty to all of the charges in the case.
After the verdict was reached in the case Gerald Griggs, an attorney for multiple of R. Kelly’s accusers, spoke out about the guilty verdict.
“This is just the beginning. We’ve been fighting this battle since 2017 and many of the victims have been fighting this battle for years. Finally, their voices were heard,” Griggs said per NBC News.
Acting US Attorney from the Eastern District Jacquelyn M. Kasulis also addressed media outside of the courthouse following the verdict being announced.
“Today’s guilty verdict forever brands R. Kelly as a predator, who used his fame and fortune to prey on the young, the vulnerable and the voiceless for his own sexual gratification. (Kelly) a predator who used his inner circle to ensnare underage girls and young men and women for decades, in a sordid web of sex abuse, exploitation and humiliation. To the victims in this case, your voices were heard and justice was finally served,” she said according to CNN.
“This conviction would not have been possible without the bravery and resilience of R. Kelly’s victims. I applaud their courage in revealing in open court, the painful, intimate and horrific details of their lives with him. No one deserves what they experienced at his hands or the threats or harassment they faced about telling the truth about what happened to them. We hope that today’s verdict bring some measure of comfort and closure to the victims,” Kasulis concluded.
— Stephanie Swaim