R. Kelly has been unsuccessful in his bid to overturn the guilty verdict on his child pornography trial. Judge Henry D. Leinenweber said that federal prosecutors had “enough evidence to sustain a guilty verdict on all six counts Kelly was convicted of”.
Billboard stated that Kelly’s lawyer’s attempts were stopped by Leinenweber on February 16th. His team claimed one of his victims (who remains anonymous) lied about her plans to chase financial compensation if Kelly was to be convicted. The publication state Kelly’s lawyers believe Jane Doe was “motivat[ed] to share her story in ways that were not entirely honest”.
Leinenweber ruled this out, and reportedly said: “Simply because Jane and her attorney considered the possibility of restitution, does not mean she lied during her testimony.” Kelly is set to be sentenced on February 23rd, and he’ll face 90 years in prison for this set of convictions alone. In September, Kelly was also charged and convicted on a federal level for being part of a racketing and sex trafficking organisation.
However, last month, prosecutors in Cook County, Illinois, dropped a number of sex-crime charges against him. Among the charges were aggravated criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
Cook County State Attorney, Kim Foxx, said those latter charges are dropped because Kelly is already facing sentences against charges on a federal level. In a press release, she said: “I understand how hard it was for these victims to come forward and tell their stories. I applaud their courage and have the utmost respect for everyone who came forward. While this may not be the result they were expecting, due to the sentences that Mr. Kelly is facing, we do feel that justice has been served. My office will direct our resources to find justice for other victims of sexual abuse who do not have the power of a documentary to bring their abusers to light.”
