Form of words:
New Delhi: American singer R. Kelly Monday pleaded guilty For running a decades-long sex trafficking circle that recruited predominantly black women and children.
A jury in New York convicted Singer on all nine charges against him, including racketeering (an organized crime or an illegal scheme or criminal enterprise), kidnapping, child pornography and bribery.
During the hearing, federal prosecutor Elizabeth Geddes told the jury that Kelly used her popularity and network of people to target, groom and abuse girls, boys and young women.
Eleven people – nine women and two men – took the stand against Kelly during the six-week-long trial, detailing the sexual violence and humiliation at her hands.
11 Witnesses thank you also By Jacqueline M. Kasulis, Acting U.S. Attorney in Brooklyn. “No one deserves to tell the truth about what happened to them, what they experienced at her hands or the threats and harassment they faced. We hope today’s verdict is somewhat relaxed and closed.” Will bring,” she said.
With this conviction, the singer could face life imprisonment. A hearing on his sentencing has been scheduled for May 4 next year.
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misbehaviorLegacy since 1994
Tuesday’s guilty verdict is the first conviction for Kelly, whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, despite allegations of misconduct. dating back About 25 years ago.
In 1994, one of the biggest R&B artists in America, Kelly married fellow singer Aaliyah when she was just 15 years old. He was 27 at the time, and a magazine later reported that he had lied about his age on the marriage certificate.
The marriage was later annulled in 1995 and six years later in 2001, Alia died in a plane crash.
A woman named Tiffany Hawkins in 1996 Guilty The singer who had sex with him when she was 15 and he was 25. He sought $10 million in damages, but the case was settled for $250,000.
Between 2002-2004, Kelly was charged with 12 counts of creating child pornography in Florida, but dropped the charges after a judge agreed that the police “lacked sufficient evidence”. Had gone.
Since then, several more allegations of rape, abuse and sexual harassment have surfaced against the singer.
Several witnesses testified that the audience at his concerts had selected victims of his abuse and that his team had lured him into the promise of a successful music career and talks with the star.
He was subjected to strict rules and punishments for not following Kelly’s rules.
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#MuteRKelly Movement, ‘Surviving Are Kelly’ Documentary
In 2017, two women, Kennett Barnes and Oronice Odeley, started a movement called ‘#MuteRKelly’ and called for a worldwide financial boycott of the singer in the backdrop of the growing #MeToo movement against sexual harassment.
“While he has been found not guilty in a court of law, the evidence is overwhelming that he has created a seamless pattern of sexual violence in the African American community that must be stopped. If the court system is unable to protect our young black women and girls , then we should proceed to do so ourselves,” notes official website Of ‘#MuteRKelly’.
In 2019, a six hour documentary series Titled, by US Channel Lifetime ‘Live R. Kelly’, detailed the allegations against Kelly, presented victim stories and footage of how parents saved their daughters from the singer.
This caused widespread outrage around the world, and two weeks after the documentary aired, his record company fired him, and his concerts in the US and New Zealand were also cancelled.
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