US singer R Kelly has been found guilty of exploiting his superstar status to run a scheme to sexually abuse women and children for over two decades.
According to BBC, the jury found him guilty of all charges that he was facing after two days deliberation.
Sentencing is due on May 4 and he could spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, is most famous for the awards-winning son I believe I Can Fly. Besides being the ringleader of a violent and coercive scheme that lured women and children for him to sexually abuse, he was also found to have trafficked women between different US states and produced child pornography.
During the trial prosecutors detailed how his managers, security guards and other entourage members worked to assist him in his criminal enterprise.
One woman who testified that Kelly imprisoned, drugged and raped her said in a written statement after the verdict that she had “been hiding” from Kelly due to threats made against her since she went public with her accusations.
“I’m ready to start living my life free from fear and to start the healing process,” added the woman.
The verdict comes 13 years after Kelly was acquitted of child pornography charges after a trial in the state of Illinois.
Many of the allegations heard in the trial were first laid out in the 2019 documentary Surviving R Kelly.
Victims are mainly his concert audiences, or some who are enticed to join him after being offered help with their music career. However, after joining his entourage, they were subjected to strict rules and are aggressively punished if they go against what his team had dubbed “Rob’s rules”.
