US R&B Music Star R.Kelly Convicted Of Sex Trafficking And Racketeering, Faces 10 Years In Prison

US R&B music star R.Kelly has been convicted of racketeering and eight counts of sex-trafficking by a jury in District Court in Brooklyn on Monday (Sep 27),

The 54-year-old singer now faces a sentence of 10 years to life in prison and will be sentenced on May 4.

The jury, comprising of five women and seven men, announced their verdict after two days of deliberations.

The jury found that Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, was the mastermind of a violent and coercive scheme that lured women and children for him to sexually abuse.

The singer - most famous for the soaring, gospel-styled ballad 'I Believe I Can Fly' - was also found to have trafficked women between different US states and produced child pornography.

During the trial prosecutors provided details on how his managers, security guards and other entourage members worked to assist him in his criminal enterprise.

Several accusers testified against Kelly. His 1994 marriage to deceased R&B star Aaliyah, when she was 15 years old, came under scrutiny during the trial. One witness described Kelly allegedly sexually abusing Aaliyah when she was 13 or 14 years old.

Another woman testified that Kelly imprisoned, drugged and raped her said in a written statement after the verdict that she had "been hiding" from Kelly due to threats made against her since she went public with her accusations.