Robert Sylvester Kelly, better known by the stage name R. Kelly, has been found guilty of racketeering in a New York City sex trafficking trial.

Kelly was on trial due to allegations that he had been luring young women and preying on them since the early days of his career in the mid-1990s. Kelly had pleaded not guilty to the allegations.

According to witnesses who testified at the trial, not only was Kelly luring young women into his company with nefarious intentions, but he would also punish them for not following his rules and instructions. These rules included when they were allowed to eat, as well as who they were allowed to communicate with.

While these allegations can be traced back as far as 1994, when he married then-15-year-old singer Aaliyah, they were brought back into the public eye after the release of the Lifetime documentary series Surviving R. Kelly in 2019. For more on the history of R. Kelly‘s allegations against him, click here.

Kelly has spent the past two years in prison and is still awaiting trials in the states of Illinois and Minnesota.

Image Credit: CTV News