Singer R. Kelly was found guilty of child sexual abuse

American singer R. Kelly was found guilty on Wednesday September 14 in Chicago of various charges for possession of child pornography and sexual abuse of minorsafter he was sentenced in June 30 years in prison for organized crime, abuse and sex trafficking, for which he is in prison in New York.

The 1990s R&B star, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly and who is now 55, was found guilty of 6 of the 13 charges against him3 of them concerned child pornography and another 3 related to persuading minors to have sex with them.

I was already in prison

R. Kelly is under suicide control in a New York prison for his own benefit, after being found guilty in a six-week trial in which dozens of people testified against him.

Throughout the New York trial, the DA’s office called the witness stand “a 45 witnesses and presented hundreds of evidenceincluding written, videotaped and audiotape evidence of the abuses to which the accused, with the assistance of his employees and collaborators, subjected his victims. “

Prosecutors had asked the judge for a sentence of more than 25 years and a fine of between $ 50,000 and $ 250,000 (ultimately set at $ 100,000) “in light of the seriousness of the offenses, the need to act as a deterrent and the need to protect the public from further offenses of the accused “.

As requested by the defense

For its part, the defense had asked not to exceed 10 years, citing the “traumatic childhood of the accusedincluding evidence of a history of sexual abuse by family members and non-family members. “

A dozen witnesses claimed she was abused by R. Kelly during the trial, while others detailed a continuing pattern of abuse.

The women featured on stage a charismatic celebrity who often spotted young victims attending his concertswho sometimes sexually assaulted behind the scenes minutes after the event.

The testimonies also revealed Kelly’s prolonged abuse of her partner, whom she beat up and forced to call him “dad” (dad).

Similarly, cthey controlled how they dressed, when they could go to the bathroom or eathow they should interact with other men or if they could leave the rooms of the residences or hotels where he kept them.

Furthermore, they found that R. Kelly used a whole network of employees to help him in his efforts to target girls, isolate and intimidate them.

Your previous sentence

Lawyers who defended R. Kelly at the trial for which he was sentenced to 30 years in prison said in court documents that it should be noted that their client “had a traumatic childhood that involved sexual abuse, poverty and violence. prolonged and severe childhood “. .

They added that “his victimization continued into adulthood where, due to his literacy deficiencies, has been repeatedly scammed and financially abusedoften by the people who paid to protect him. ”

But they failed to convince the jurywho condemned the singer after hearing how he used his entourage of managers and assistants to meet girls and keep them obedient, an operation that prosecutors said amounted to a criminal enterprise.

Source: EFE

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