American singer R. Kelly found guilty

American singer R. Kelly found guilty
in sex-trafficking trial

R. Kelly, the American R&B superstar who has long been trailed by accusations of sexual misconduct and abuse, was found guilty Monday of racketeering in a high-profile sex-trafficking case, capping a trial that featured hours of graphic testimony from the singer’s accusers.

Kelly, best known for the 1996 hit “I Believe I Can Fly,” pleaded not guilty to all charges in the case. The singer, whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, did not take the stand in his own defense.

In a closing argument that lasted two days, Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Geddes accused Kelly and his entourage of using tactics from “the predator playbook” to control his victims.

Kelly’s alleged tactics included confining victims in hotel rooms or his recording studio, managing when they could eat and use the bathroom, and forcing them to follow various “rules,” including demanding they call him “Daddy.”

“It is now time to hold the defendant responsible for the pain he inflicted on each of his victims,” Geddes said Thursday in federal court in Brooklyn. “It is now time for the defendant, Robert Kelly, to pay for his crimes. Convict him.