After decades of accusations, the R&B singer is facing his second trial related to his alleged sexual abuse crimes against minors.
again, this time on federal charges that included enticement of a minor, obstruction of justice and child pornography. That same day, Brooklyn prosecutors indicted him on racketeering charges.
The racketeering charge is somewhat unusual given that Kelly’s case centers on sexual abuse of minors. Prosecutors, however, say they’re charging Kelly with racketeering because the R&B singer and his entourage — including managers, bodyguards, personal assistants and drivers — acted like a criminal enterprise or an organized crime unit.
It’s a creative — albeit difficult — charge to throw at Kelly. The racketeering statute, also known by the acronym RICO, is usually applied to cases involving organized crime like the mafia. The charge allows prosecutors to present the jury with decades of evidence, but proving Kelly and his entourage amounted to a criminal enterprise may be a harder hill to climb for prosecutors. The most recent application of this statute that closest resembles Kelly’s charge is the NXIVM case.
Kelly is accused of several abuses, including enslaving underage girls and women in his tour bus and hotel rooms, physically abusing them as punishment, withholding food and water from them for days and blackmailing them with sexual photos.
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