The jury of five women and seven men found him guilty on all charges, convicting him of using his fame to systematically recruit his victims for sex, buttressed by his entourage.
With 45 witnesses including 11 accusers -- nine women and two men -- government attorneys vied to illustrate systematic abuse by R. Kelly, and the coterie of associates he orchestrated.
The singer, who reigned over the 1990s and early 2000s, has for decades faced accusations of sexual misconduct but was only tried once on child pornography charges, proceedings that saw him acquitted.
In bombshell testimony Monday, the now 32-year-old man said that he became associated with Kelly's entourage and pleaded guilty in 2021 to attempting to bribe a woman who would potentially testify against the musician.
"He could put the fear of God in me very quickly," she said, saying she performed sex acts because "I didn't feel like I had a choice," saying she'd suffered past abuse both at home and by a former boss. She also said she feared what the singer would do with their sex tapes.
Jerhonda Pace, now 28, wept as she read aloud from a journal entry describing how Kelly slapped her, saying 'If I lied to him again, it's not going to be an open hand next time.'
The 54-year-old is charged with racketeering, sexual exploitation of a child, kidnapping, bribery and forced labour between 1994 and 2018.
The 54-year-old appeared stoic in a navy blue suit as the questioning of jurors began in the Brooklyn court, where he faces charges of racketeering, sexual exploitation of a child, kidnapping, bribery and forced labor, spanning from 1994 to 2018.
Kelly, 54, faces charges in a US court in Brooklyn including racketeering, sexual exploitation of a child, kidnapping, bribery and forced labour. They span from 1994 to 2018.
The artist born Robert Sylvester Kelly was arrested on sex-trafficking charges in July 2019. He's accused of systematically recruiting girls for sex while touring and coercing them into sexual activity.
BET Africa has decided not to air an interview with Mongezi 'Tol Ass Mo' Mahlangu and his wife, Mome.
Prosecutors say three members of the artist's circle - Richard Arline Jr., Donnell Russell and Michael Williams - have been engaged in separate bids to silence Kelly's accusers in the New York racketeering case against him through intimidation, harassment and bribery.
The disgraced singer's arraignment on various new sexual abuse charges took place via telephone conference on Thursday due to the coronavirus pandemic.
District Judge Ann Donnelly highlighted the fact Illinois prosecutors have accused Kelly of witness tampering during his child pornography case so insisted it would be too risky to let him out of jail.
Kelly filed a motion asking to be released on bail, citing multiple confirmed cases of coronavirus in the Chicago jail where he is being held.
Kelly is currently holed up in Chicago's Metropolitan Correctional Centre on charges that include sex trafficking, racketeering and child pornography.
Judge Moira S. Johnson granted the default judgement after he was absent from yet another meeting in the case on Tuesday, and it will be up for a final hearing on 10 March.
