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Ex-musician R. Kelly (2019)
Photo: Matt Marton / dpa
The next trial against R. Kelly is over – and again the ex-pop star was convicted of sex crimes.
A jury in Chicago on Wednesday found the 55-year-old man guilty of having sex with a minor and producing child pornography.
The reported US media unanimously.
Just a few weeks ago, the singer in New York was sentenced to 30 years in prison for abusing minors.
In a second trial in Chicago, he was charged with 13 counts, including several counts of producing child pornography and inducing minors to engage in sexual activity.
According to the New York Times, the twelve jurors acquitted him on seven counts, including allegations of obstruction of justice.
The sentence will be announced at a later date, and there is a risk of another long prison sentence.
Kelly had always denied the allegations.
He has been in prison since the summer of 2019.
Two other accused ex-employees of Kelly's were acquitted.
In Chicago it was also about a video that has been known for many years, which is supposed to show Kelly how he abuses a 14-year-old girl and urinates on her.
In this case, the musician was acquitted by a jury in 2008.
Prosecutors accused him of pressuring the victim not to testify at the trial.
In the new process, the now adult woman had confirmed that she was the person in the video.
The label also turned away from Kelly
The trial is another high-profile legal workup in the MeToo era, following cases like those of film producer Harvey Weinstein and comedian Bill Cosby.
The first allegations against the musician, born Robert Sylvester Kelly in Chicago in 1967, were made around 25 years ago.
But Kelly remained at large for a long time.
With more than 50 million albums sold, several Grammys and other awards, he was one of the most successful musicians of the late 20th century.
But at the latest when the sensational documentary "Surviving R. Kelly" summarized the allegations in 2019, the singer became more and more lonely.
Stars distanced themselves from him, as well as radio stations, streaming services and then his music label RCA, which belongs to Sony Music.
jok/dpa