Mwimbaji huyo mkongwe amedaiwa kuwa na historia mbaya na ya siri ambayo umma haukuijua wakati wote akiwa mmoja wa wanamuziki maarufu na wenye ushawishi.
Waendesha mashitaka wameiambia Mahakama kutarajia taarifa mbaya katika muda wa wiki 4 zijazo watakapowaleta mashahidi akiwemo msichana aliyeonekana kwenye video ya ngono akiwa na miaka 13 au 14 wakati Kelly akiwa na miaka 31.
Kelly mwenye miaka 55 anakabiliwa na makosa 13 ya kuwalazimisha wasichana watano wenye umri chini ya miaka 12 hadi 17 kufanya vitendo vya ngono, pamoja na kuhifadhi na kupokea ponografia za #Watoto.
Tayari R.Kelly anatumikia kifungo cha miaka 30 jela kupitia hukumu ya Juni 29 dhidi ya makosa mengine ya aina hiyo.
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R. Kelly kept an ugly side of his life hidden as he escaped poverty in Chicago and rose to pop music stardom, a prosecutor told jurors Wednesday at the singer's trial on charges accusing him of enticing girls for sex and rigging a 2008 child pornography case.
Kelly’s lead attorney implored jurors during her opening statement at the federal trial in Chicago not to accept what she said was the prosecution’s portrayal of her client as “a monster.”
Going back to the 1990s, much of the world knew Kelly solely by his hit songs, including the chart-topping inspirational anthem “I Believe I Can Fly," U.S. Assistant Attorney Jason Julien said. But “Kelly had another side … a hidden side, a dark side,” he added. “This trial is about Kelly’s hidden side.”
Kelly, 55, faces multiple charges, including enticing of minors for sex, producing child pornography and rigging his 2008 child pornography trial at which he was acquitted. Kelly, who has denied any wrongdoing, has been trailed for decades by complaints and allegations about his sexual behavior. The scrutiny intensified after the #MeToo era and the 2019 six-part documentary “Surviving R. Kelly" that detailed sex abuse allegations involving women and teenage girls.
Defense attorney Jennifer Bonjean told jurors that Kelly, in part because of intellectual challenges that included illiteracy, was forced to rely on others as his career took off and that he was sometimes led astray by those in his circle of associates.
“Mr. Kelly can also be a victim,” she said.
A conviction in Chicago could add decades to a 30-year prison sentence he already received from a New York federal judge for charges that he used his fame to sexually abuse other young fans.
Source: NBC Chicago
