R. Kelly found guilty on multiple counts in abuse trial

R&B singer R. Kelly has been found guilty on multiple charges of child abuse but not guilty of obstructing a 2008 state case that ended with his acquittal.

In his latest trial, Kelly - whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly - was found guilty by a jury on six out of 13 counts, prosecutors said.

The verdict of the jury in US District Court in Chicago came after jurors deliberated for 11 hours over two days.

Kelly is among the most prominent people convicted of sexual misbehaviour during the #MeToo movement against harassment and abuse in recent years.

During the five-week trial, several women took the stand and told jurors that Kelly abused them when they were minors. The jury also saw a video of Kelly molesting his goddaughter, who testified that the abuse began in the 1990s when she was a teenager.

Kelly and both his co-defendants, Milton “June” Brown and Derrel McDavid, were acquitted on charges they conspired to receive inappropriate images/videos of children. Kelly and McDavid were also acquitted on charges they conspired to obstruct justice in an earlier case.

The men were accused of trying to bribe and threaten witnesses in the 2008 Illinois case.

In June, Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison on his conviction in a New York federal court on racketeering charges. That trial amplified accusations that had dogged the singer of the Grammy-winning hit I Believe I Can Fly for two decades. 

Kelly also faces various state charges in Illinois and Minnesota.