R Kelly found guilty of all charges in a sex trafficking trial

R&B musician R Kelly  has been found guilty of all charges in a sex trafficking trial after two days of deliberations in New York.

A jury of seven men and five women found the superstar singer guilty on all nine charges, including racketeering in a verdict announced Monday.

The charges were based on an argument that the entourage of managers and aides who helped the singer meet girls — and keep them obedient and quiet — amounted to a criminal enterprise.

Kelly's  accusers testified in lurid detail during the trial, alleging that the singer subjected them to perverse and sadistic whims when they were underage.

Jurors were shown homemade videos of Kelly engaging in sex acts that prosecutors said were not consensual.

Assistant US Attorney Maria Cruz Melendez argued that Kelly was a serial abuser who “maintained control over these victims using every trick in the predator handbook”.

R Kelly has been jailed without bail since 2019. The trial was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic and Kelly’s last-minute shake-up of his legal team.