R. Kelly Guilty of Child Porn for Taping Himself Sexually Abusing 14-Year-Old

R. Kelly, 55, was found guilty Wednesday of child pornography, among other charges, after videotaping himself having sex with a 14-year-old, according to the Chicago Tribune.

At the heart of the case was “Jane,” Kelly’s then-14-year-old goddaughter, who alleged he abused her and then coerced her out of testifying at a previous trial, in 2008, by threatening her and her parents and paying them off. 

Kelly, however, was acquitted of conspiring to obstruct justice related to accusations of intimidating Jane.

Jane, now 37, finally took to the stand earlier this month and testified that Kelly abused her hundreds of times, starting in 1998 when she was as young as 13. 

During the trial, Jane was asked why she hadn't come forward sooner. “I became exhausted with living with (Kelly’s) lies,” she said. 

The long-awaited verdict follows about a month of harrowing testimonies, including three other women who said they had sex with Kelly “hundreds of times” as minors. The federal jury in Chicago deliberated for 11 hours over two days. 

Robert Sylvester Kelly, better known as R. Kelly, didn’t testify and was facing 13 charges, including multiple counts of coercing a minor into sexual activity and engaging in such conduct in order to produce video. He was also accused of receiving child pornography, conspiring to receive child pornography, and conspiring to obstruct a federal investigation. 

Just one count of child pornography in Chicago carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, according to the Associated Press. The Grammy-winning artist is currently serving a 30-year sentence following a separate guilty conviction last year. 

Two of Kelly’s former employees—business manager Derrel McDavid and assistant Milton “June” Brown—were also on trial. McDavid is accused of helping Kelly rig the 2008 trial, while Brown is accused of receiving child pornography. All three men have denied the allegations, and only McDavid appeared on the stand. 

Ultimately, Kelly was found guilty on three out of four counts for exploiting a minor for the purpose of producing child pornography, and three of five counts of enticing a minor. McDavid, Brown, and Kelly were found not guilty of conspiring to receive child pornography, and McDavid was also found not guilty of obstructing justice in the early aughts.

Two decades ago, a video of Kelly’s alleged abuse targeting Jane was anonymously sent to the Chicago Sun-Times. The newspaper then forwarded the footage to police, which led to a state-level child pornography prosecution. A jury acquitted Kelly after Jane refused to testify. 

The trial, which began on Aug. 15 in Kelly’s hometown, was the latest in a series attempting to address sexual abuse allegations against Kelly spanning three decades.  

Earlier this year, a separate jury in New York found Kelly guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking after listening to several testimonies, including that he groomed a teenager, sexually abused the late pop star Aaliyah when she was 13 or 14, and that he forced a woman to have sex as “punishment.” He started serving his term in Brooklyn before being moved to a federal prison in Chicago ahead of his current trial.

Kelly is also facing sex crime charges in Illinois and Minnesota, which are slated to proceed following the Chicago trial.

The disgraced singer enjoyed widespread success even after sexual abuse allegations started surfacing. Motherboard previously reported how an endless stream of memes helped keep the singer in the spotlight.

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