R. Kelly’s fate now in jury’s hands after weeks of testimony

NEW YORK – R. Kelly’s destiny is present successful a jury’s hands aft weeks of lurid grounds successful his intersexual misconduct trial.

A assemblage of 7 men and 5 women began deliberating racketeering and enactment trafficking charges against the R&B superstar Friday.

Prosecutors and defence attorneys finished their closing arguments this week. The 54-year-old vocalist is accused of moving a Chicago-based transgression endeavor that recruited his accusers for unwanted enactment and intelligence torment.

The witnesses said Kelly subjected them to perverse and sadistic whims erstwhile they were underage. He has denied immoderate wrongdoing.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier communicative follows below.

NEW YORK (AP) — A justice began instructing the assemblage astatine R. Kelly’s enactment trafficking proceedings connected the instrumentality Friday aft it heard a authoritative springiness a fiery rebuttal to the defense's closing arguments, which portrayed him arsenic a unfortunate of mendacious accusations.

Kelly “believed the music, the fame and the personage meant helium could bash immoderate helium wanted,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Nadia Shihata said successful national tribunal successful Brooklyn.

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But, she added, “He’s not a genius, he’s a criminal. A predator.” She added that his alleged victims “aren't groupies oregon golden diggers. They're quality beings.”

After Shihata finished, U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly started her last instructions successful anticipation jurors would get the lawsuit aboriginal successful the day.

The 54-year-old Kelly, possibly champion known for the 1996 smash deed “I Believe I Can Fly, ” has pleaded not blameworthy to racketeering charges accusing him of abusing women, girls and boys for much than 2 decades.

He is besides charged with aggregate violations of the Mann Act, which makes it amerciable to transport anyone crossed authorities lines “for immoderate immoral purpose.”

Prosecutors accidental their grounds proves however Kelly, with the assistance of immoderate loyal members of his entourage, utilized tactics from “the predator playbook” to sexually exploit his victims.

The tactics included isolating them successful edifice rooms oregon his signaling studio, subjecting them to degrading rules similar making them telephone him “Daddy” and shooting video recordings — immoderate seen by the assemblage astatine proceedings — of them having enactment with him and others arsenic a means to power them, prosecutors said.

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In his closing, defence lawyer Deveraux Cannick told the assemblage that grounds by respective accusers was afloat of lies, and that “the authorities fto them lie.”

Cannick argued determination was nary grounds Kelly's accusers were ne'er forced to bash thing against their will. Instead, Cannick said, Kelly's girlfriends stuck astir due to the fact that helium spoiled them with escaped aerial travel, buying sprees and fancy dinners — attraction that belied the predator label.

“He gave them a lavish lifestyle,” helium said. “That’s not what a predator is expected to do.”

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