- Title: R. Kelly convicted of luring women, underage girls for sex
- Date: 27th September 2021
- Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 27, 2021) (REUTERS) R. KELLY'S LAWYER, DEVERAUX CANNICK, LEAVING BROOKLYN FEDERAL COURTHOUSE (SOUNDBITE) (English) R. KELLY'S LAWYER, DEVERAUX CANNICK, SAYING: "He is disappointed as I am. You didn't get to see what we saw in terms of the discovery, you didn't get to see all the inconsistencies. We said in our summation that the government cherry-picked their version that they thought would support the continuation of the narrative. They did." JOURNALIST ASKING (OFF CAMERA): "is it fair to say that Mr. Kelly wasn't expecting this verdict?" DEVERAUX CANNICK: "Absolutely not. Why would he expect this verdict, given all the inconsistencies that we saw?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) R. KELLY'S LAWYER, DEVERAUX CANNICK, SAYING: "As I said earlier, of course Mr. Kelly is disappointed. He was not anticipating this verdict because based on the evidence, why should he anticipate this verdict? When you go over the discovery, you saw witness after witness giving three, four, five different versions as to what they said happened here. The government cherry-picked the version that they thought would be a continuation of the narrative that was first put out by Cheryl Mack and 'Surviving R. Kelly.' And they cherry-picked a version and ran with that version. They totally ignored the inconsistencies that all of these witnesses gave in their debriefing. They tried and I guess they successfully did it, was to massage it. But it's a situation we're in. I don't know if I'm more disappointed in the jury's verdict or the government's action in this case." CANNICK WALKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) R. KELLY'S LAWYER, DEVERAUX CANNICK, SAYING: "I'm sure we'll be appealing. I'm sure that we're going to pursue his appellate rights and hopefully the Second Circuit will agree with us and not endorse this conduct." CANNICK WALKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) R. KELLY'S LAWYER, DEVERAUX CANNICK, SAYING: "Mr. Kelly didn't say much of anything because he is shocked." JOURNALIST ASKING: "He was shocked at the verdict despite the testimony?" DEVERAUX CANNICK: "Because of the testimony, he was shocked, not despite." VARIOUS OF CANNICK WALKING AWAY ACTING UNITED STATES ATTORNEY FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK, JACQUELYN KASULIS, AND HER TEAM LEAVING COURTHOUSE KASULIS AT MICROPHONE STAND (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTING UNITED STATES ATTORNEY FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK, JACQUELYN KASULIS, SAYING: "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. 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. 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 and harassment they faced in telling the truth about what happened to them. We hope that today's verdict brings some measure of comfort and closure to the victims." ATTORNEY REPRESENTING ALLEGED VICTIMS OF R. KELLY, GLORIA ALLRED, AT MICROPHONE STAND (SOUNDBITE) (English) ATTORNEY REPRESENTING ALLEGED VICTIMS OF R. KELLY, GLORIA ALLRED, SAYING: "The government proved that Mr. Kelly had genital herpes, that he knew that he had it, but failed to disclose it to his underage victims and adults and that he failed to use condoms to protect them and lower the risk of contracting it. As a result, many of his victims contracted this sexually transmitted infectious disease from him and will be forced to suffer from it for the rest of their lives." ALLRED (SOUNDBITE) (English) ATTORNEY REPRESENTING ALLEGED VICTIMS OF R. KELLY, GLORIA ALLRED, SAYING: "I've been hiding from Robert Kelly in fear, due to threats made against me and I'm ready to start living my life free from fear and to start the healing process." ALLRED (SOUNDBITE) (English) ATTORNEY REPRESENTING ALLEGED VICTIMS OF R. KELLY, GLORIA ALLRED, SAYING: "In their closing argument, the defense had the nerve to bring up the name of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. What they failed to mention is that Martin Luther King Jr. said that, 'I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.' That is what the jury did today. Based on the evidence, the jury must have concluded that the defendant, R. Kelly, was no Martin Luther King Jr. Instead, R. Kelly is a sexual predator who is guilty of very serious federal crimes. The defense should be ashamed of even mentioning the name of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in any discussion of R. Kelly, a dangerous sexual predator who has harmed so many women and underage girls."
- Embargoed: 11th October 2021 20:21
- Keywords: R&B singer R. Kelly guilty sex trafficking
- Location: VARIOUS
- City: VARIOUS
- Country: USA
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Judicial Process/Court Cases/Court Decisions,United States
- Reuters ID: LVA001EWHUYPZ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: R. Kelly was convicted by a federal jury on Monday (September 27) in his sex trafficking trial, where prosecutors accused the R&B singer of exploiting his stardom over a quarter-century to lure women and underage girls into his orbit for sex.
Jurors in Brooklyn federal court deliberated for a little more than a day before voting to convict the 54-year-old Kelly on all nine counts he faced, after a 5-1/2 week trial.
Kelly kept his head down as the verdict was read, with his face shielded by a white mask.
A woman watching from an overflow courtroom cried as the verdict was read, as did others who had waited to learn Kelly's fate in a park adjacent to the courthouse. One supporter played the singer's music there, including the song "Shut Up."
Deveraux Cannick, a lawyer for Kelly, told reporters that the defense was disappointed. "I'm sure we'll be appealing," he said.
Kelly faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years behind bars, and could face up to life in prison at his May 4, 2022, sentencing.
The singer, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, is one of the most prominent people tried on sex charges during the #MeToo movement, which amplified accusations that had dogged him since the early 2000s.
Like Kelly, many of his accusers were Black, differentiating the case from recent #MeToo convictions of comedian Bill Cosby and movie producer Harvey Weinstein. Cosby's conviction was overturned in June.
Kelly had been charged with one count of racketeering and eight counts of violating the Mann Act, which prohibits transporting people across state lines for prostitution.
The racketeering charge gave prosecutors leeway to offer evidence that might otherwise be too old to prosecute.
"We hope that today's verdict brings some measure of comfort and closure to the victims," Acting U.S. Attorney Jacquelyn Kasulis told reporters.
Prosecutors said Kelly took advantage of his fame and charisma to recruit victims, including some plucked from crowds at his concerts, with the aid of people in his entourage.
Witnesses said some victims had hoped Kelly could jumpstart their careers, only to find he demanded their strict obedience and would punish them if they failed.
Trial testimony from the 45 government witnesses portrayed, often in graphic detail, an unseemly side to Kelly's 30-year music career, whose highlights include the 1996 Grammy-winning smash "I Believe I Can Fly."
Kelly has repeatedly denied sexual abuse accusations.
His alleged victims included the late singer Aaliyah, who Kelly briefly and illegally married in 1994 when she was 15. Aaliyah died in a 2001 plane crash.
Many accusations against Kelly were included in the January 2019 Lifetime documentary "Surviving R. Kelly."
Several witnesses testified that Kelly instilled fear if his victims did not fulfill his every need, sexual and otherwise.
Jurors heard how Kelly would compel victims to follow "Rob's rules," including that they call him "Daddy" and get permission to eat or go to the bathroom.
Witnesses said Kelly pressed accusers to write "apology letters" to potentially absolve him of wrongdoing, and concealed before intercourse that he had contracted herpes.
One witness, who identified herself as Sonja, testified she had hoped to interview Kelly for a radio station where she was interning, when he locked her up for at least two days without food or water and then assaulted her.
"I've been hiding from Robert Kelly in fear," Sonja said in a statement read by her lawyer Gloria Allred. "I'm ready to start living my life free from fear and to start the healing process."
Allred alluded after the verdict to Cannick's closing argument where he invoked the civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in urging jurors to show courage and acquit Kelly.
"Despite the fact that he thought he could control all of his victims, he was wrong," Allred told reporters, referring to Kelly. "Based on the evidence, the jury must have concluded that R. Kelly is no Martin Luther King Jr."
Kelly did not testify in his defense.
His lawyers had sought to portray Kelly's accusers as former fans who felt jilted when they fell from his favor, and that their sex with Kelly was consensual.
They also tried to show how some accusers stayed with Kelly long after the alleged abuses began, and questioned why they failed to go to the police or waited years to come forward.
On top of the conviction, Kelly still faces federal charges in Chicago on child pornography and obstruction, and state charges in Illinois and Minnesota.
(Production: Hussein Al Waaile, Dan Fastenberg, Tyler Clifford, Luc Cohen, Roselle Chen) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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