Pictured is disgraced R&B Singer R Kelly

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com

By Kathy Wray Coleman, associate publisher, editor-in-chief

BROOKLYN, New York- The Cleveland Rape Crisis Center is applauding the convictions on Monday on all nine counts of disgraced R&B singer R. Kelley by a federal jury of five women and seven men in his sex trafficking case, convictions that follow a closely watched five and half week trial.

“Today’s verdict rightfully acknowledges the experiences of dozens of women abused by Kelly and sends a clear message that sexual harassment, misconduct and abuse cannot and will not be tolerated even years after the event," said Sondra Miller, Cleveland Rape Crisis Center president and CEO. “The stories of this case sadly revealed that for African-American women, sexual assault, violence, and systemic racism are incredibly pervasive issues that routinely go unreported and under-addressed. "

Miller said that "for every 15 Black women who are raped, only one reports her assault and disturbingly one in four Black girls will be sexually abused before the age of 18.

She went on to say that "this is further exacerbated when acknowledging the unique cultural nuances of young girls in marginalized communities."

Kelly had been charged with one count of racketeering and eight counts of violating the Mann Act. It prohibits transporting people across state lines for prostitution.

The Brooklyn, New York jury, which was largely male,  deliberated for a day before reaching its celebrated verdict. Kelly did not take the stand at his own trial, which was his constitutional right.

Prosecutors accused the famous singer of  sexually exploiting dozens of women and underage girls over a period of some 25 years.

Kelly has consistently denied the accusations. He did not show any emotion when the verdict was read.

He could face life in prison when he is sentenced on May 4.

Deveraux Cannick, a lawyer for Kelly, told reporters following the verdict that the defense was  disappointed and would likely appeal.

A few of Kelly's female victims looked on from the court's overflow room as the verdict was read.

The singer's real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly and he  is one of the most prominent people tried on sex charges during the #MeToo movement behind movie producer Harvey Weinstein and actor and comedian Bill Cosby, whose rape and other convictions were overturned in June by the Philadelphia Supreme Court.

In Cosby's case the state Supreme Court said that the trial court erred in failing to dismiss the charges against him and that the case was not properly before the trial court because prosecutors reneged on a decades-old settlement agreement not to prosecute him on the charges that were before the court.

"We hope that today's verdict brings some measure of comfort and closure to the victims," acting U.S. District  Attorney Jacquelyn Kasulis told reporters relative to Kelly's convictions.

Prosecutors said Kelly  used his fame and charisma to recruit his victims while his defense counsel told jurors at trial that it was his fame and fortune that made him an alleged victim of the system as a Black man.

Kelly's 30-year music career, which  includes the 1996 Grammy-winning  hit "I Believe I Can Fly," gave him entree to young Black women and girls looking for stardom, and he took complete advantage of them, prosecutors said.

The late singer Aaliyah, whom he illegally married in 1994 when she was 15, was among his purported victims.

That marriage was short lived and Aaliyah later died in a plane crash in 2001.

Kelley's lawyers argued at trial that accusations included in the January 2019 Lifetime documentary "Surviving R. Kelly," contributed to what they say is a prejudicial jury verdict.

One witness testified that Kelly locked her up for days and denied her food, and another said  he allegedly sexually abused her in front of his friends.

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, the most read Black digital newspaper in Ohio and in the Midwest. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview. CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.

By Kathy Wray Coleman. Coleman is a former public school biology teacher and a Black political and investigative reporter who trained for 17 years at the Call and Post Newspaper in Cleveland, Ohio