

“I made her (the welfare office worker) an offer and she took the money,” Smith testified. Kelly’s former tour manager, Demetrius Smith, testified reluctantly that he bribed a worker at a welfare office in the Chicago area to create a welfare ID for Aaliyah. Kelly in his federal racketeering trial, explained

Kelly is facing multiple sexual assault charges and is being held without bail. Kelly appears during a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse on Septemin Chicago, Illinois.
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Prosecutors showed copies of the couple’s marriage license application, which listed Aaliyah’s age as 18 at the time of their wedding, as well as their marriage license and marriage certification. Jurors heard from multiple witnesses who were present at her marriage to Kelly on August 31, 1994, when he was 27 and she was 15. Jane Doe 1 was the singer Aaliyah, who died in 2001.
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The verdict comes 13 years after Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, was acquitted of child pornography charges at an Illinois state trial.Īn attorney for Kelly said they are considering filing an appeal and are disappointed in the verdict.įifty prosecution and defense witnesses took the stand during the five-week trial, including victims who were identified as “Jane Does” in Kelly’s indictments. In all, Kelly could face decades in prison at sentencing, which is scheduled for May 4. The jury, made up of seven men and five women, began deliberating Friday afternoon. “We said in our summation that the government cherry-picked their version that they thought would support the continuation of the narrative.”Ĭannick continued, “Why would he expect this verdict given all the inconsistencies that we saw?” You didn’t get to see all the inconsistencies,” Cannick said.
“You didn’t get to see what we saw in terms of the discovery. Kelly did not have any reaction to the verdict when it was read in court and, according to his attorney, he was not expecting this verdict.Īttorney Deveraux Cannick said outside of court the government “cherry-picked” evidence to support its narrative. She said the verdict was also a message to other celebrities who prey on others. These were not May-October relationships, which is what his defense attorney wanted the jury to believe – these were crimes against children and some adults,” Allred said. “First, he used the power of his celebrity to recruit vulnerable underage girls for the purpose of sexually abusing them. “To the victims in this case, your voices were heard and justice was finally served,” Kasulis said.Īttorney Gloria Allred, who represented three of the six victims who testified at trial, said Kelly is the worst predator she has ever pursued. She said the victims were brave for coming forward and telling their stories. Kelly is “a predator who used his inner circle to ensnare underage girls and young men and women for decades, in a sordid web of sex abuse, exploitation and humiliation,” Kasulis added.

Kelly as a predator, who used his fame and fortune to prey on the young, the vulnerable and the voiceless for his own sexual gratification,” said Jacquelyn Kasulis, acting US attorney from the Eastern District of New York. “Today’s guilty verdict forever brands R. Jurors found prosecutors had proven all but two of the 14 underlying racketeering acts. Of the 14 underlying acts for the racketeering count, he needed to be found guilty of at least two to be convicted of that count. Kelly was found guilty of nine counts – one count of racketeering and eight counts of violating the Mann Act. In this federal case in the Eastern District of New York, Kelly faced a total of nine counts – one count of racketeering, with 14 underlying acts that included sexual exploitation of a child, kidnapping, bribery and sex trafficking charges, and also eight additional counts of violations of the Mann Act, a sex trafficking law. Kelly guilty of racketeering, including acts of bribery and sexual exploitation of a child, along with separate charges of sex trafficking.
