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R. Kelly Found Guilty of Sex Crimes, Including Child Pornography

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A Chicago jury on Wednesday convicted R. Kelly of multiple child pornography and child sex abuse charges in the second federal trial looking into sexual assault allegations against him, according to the Associated Press.

In June, the 55-year-old former R&B singer received a 30-year prison sentence from a Brooklyn judge.

The Chicago court proceedings, in which two of his associates were also defendants, followed the federal trial held last year in New York, where Kelly faced racketeering and sex-trafficking charges stemming from nearly 30 years of abuse allegations from women and minors.

On Wednesday, Kelly was found guilty on six of the 13 counts against him: three for coercing minors into sexual activity, and three for producing videos of child sex abuse, according to the AP.

He was acquitted of conspiring to obstruct a federal investigation and was not found guilty of the remaining enticement and pornography charges. Kelly’s co-defendants, Derrel McDavid and Milton “June” Brown, were cleared of all charges.

Speaking from the lobby of Chicago’s Dirksen Federal Courthouse, Kelly’s defense attorney Jennifer Bonjean said they were “not celebrating any win,” but that they were happy the jury returned seven not-guilty counts in a 13-count indictment.

As for Kelly’s reaction, Bonjean said he was relieved to have the trial behind him.

“Mr. Kelly is used to bad news,” she said. “He has a 30-year sentence that is excessive, in my opinion. He still has many fights to fight.”

U.S. Attorney John Lausch expressed mixed feelings as well. He noted that federal prosecutors were “pleased with the fact that Robert Kelly is finally being held accountable” for his “reprehensible conduct” but said they were “disappointed by the not-guilty verdicts on the remaining counts.”

According to Lausch, Kelly faces 10 to 20 years in prison for each child pornography count and up to 10 years per enticement count.

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