R Kelly guilty of decades of ‘predatory’ sexual abuse

R KELLY, the R&B singer, has been convicted in a sex-trafficking trial after prosecutors accused him of leading a decades-long scheme to abuse underage girls and women.

Jurors in Brooklyn federal court deliberated for a little more than one day before finding the 54-year-old singer, whose legal name is Robert Kelly, guilty on all nine counts. He could face decades in prison.

His career began to crumble in 2019 when the docuseries Surviving R Kelly re-examined the accusations of sexual abuse that have dogged him for decades.

In the trial, the prosecution portrayed Kelly as a sexual predator and control freak who ordered his victims to call him “Daddy” and submit to violent spankings if they disobeyed his rules.

Maria Cruz Melendez, assistant US attorney, branded the singer a serial abuser who “maintained control over these victims using every trick in the predator handbook”.

Dozens of accusers testified during the trial, alleging that Kelly subjected them to perverse and sadistic whims when they were underage. Jurors were also shown home-made videos of Kelly engaging in sex acts that prosecutors said were not consensual.

The trial and conviction are the first of the “Metoo” era to involve a group of mostly black female accusers. Kelly faces further sex-related charges in Illinois and Minnesota in which he has pleaded not guilty.