R. Kelly, the disgraced R&B star, was found guilty of several child pornography charges last Sept. 15, he is expected to face a long-term sentence in prison.
According to the Chicago Tribune, the federal jury that convicted Kelly on child pornography charges believed Jane (a pseudonym) his then-14-year-old goddaughter.
It took her more than two decades to come forward and share the sexual abuse she had suffered at the hands of Kelly. Alongside "Jane" were two other women who testified against the R&B singer, reports say.
Kelly was first acquitted for similar charges in Chicago in 2008, however, the striking difference between the acquitted case to the current one was the cooperation and participation of Jane.
"Jane"
Now, over ten years later, he was found guilty in the same city. People believe that it was the testimony of "Jane" that sealed his conviction for this case.
The defense was quick to discredit Jane's testimony. In their closing arguments, Kelly's lawyer Jennifer Bonjean accused her parents of lying about her relationship with Kelly, stating, "they condoned it."
However, the federal jury was not swayed. According to reports, they decided that the videos of Kelly were authentic.
Aside from the child pornography and sex trafficking charges, he was also charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice for allegedly fixing his 2008 trial.
The trial ran for five weeks, with the jury deliberating for about 11 hours over two days.
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Sentencing
The 55-year-old was convicted of three counts of child pornography, and three counts of child enticement. He was acquitted of a fourth pornography count and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
Kelly's co-defendants Derrel McDavid and Milton "June" Brown were charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice, however, they were both not found guilty.
Kelly is now facing 10 to 90 years in prison and is currently serving a 30-year sentence following his conviction in New York the previous year.
According to USA Today, Chicago mandates that a count of child pornography carries a minimum sentence of 10 years.
He was convicted of violating the Mann Act, a sex trafficking law, as well as having sexual relations with underage girls.
"The evidence, in this case, revealed reprehensible conduct," said John Lausch, U.S. Attorney.
People react
There was a big sigh of relief from people on the Internet following Kelly's conviction.
"This conviction is justice for all of those R. Kelly chose to violate, groom, and exploit for his benefit and serves as an important reminder that what is done in darkness will always come to light," tweeted a user.
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"R. Kelly was found guilty of 6 counts of child pornography. Anyone supporting him after knowing all this info is a [pedophile] apologist," another tweeted.
Some questioned whether listening to his music would still count as supporting the singer, "That man definitely gone have life.. But does listening to his music count as supporting him or does music and the artist who made it can be separated?"
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However, there are still some fans who stand by the singer, with some tweeting "Free R. Kelly King Jr."
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