AssetID: 54510398
Headline: UNCAPTIONED: R Kelly's attempt to overturn sex trafficking conviction fails
Caption: R Kelly has lost an appeal to have a sex trafficking conviction overturned. The disgraced musician was jailed for at least 30 years in 2023 after being found guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking. The 58-year-old rapper appealed in March last year, but a judge in the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan denied his attempt to have his conviction overturned on Wednesday. The courts heard how the musician had exploited his fame for more than 25 years to abuse girls and young women. Circuit Judge Denny Chin explained that prosecutors had provided, ."extensive evidence showing how Kelly ensnared young girls and women into his orbit, endeavoured to control their lives, and secured their compliance with his personal and sexual demands through verbal and physical abuse, threats of blackmail, and humiliation.” Delivering the verdict on behalf of a three-judge panel, Chin went on to explain that Kelly had planned to convince his victims that they would be harmed if they did not agree to his sexual demands. Kelly's lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, has signalled that the musician will appeal the ruling again, arguing that the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) had not been properly applied to the singer's case. The lawyer argued the latest decision, per Reuters, "gives the government limitless discretion to apply the RICO statute to situations absurdly remote from the statute's intent... The statute was intended to punish organised crime, not individual conduct.” Instructions: THIS VIDEO MUST NOT BE EDITED FOR LENGTH TO COMBINE WITH OTHER CONTENT
Keywords: R Kelly,Singer,Attempt,Overturn,Sex,Trafficking,Conviction,Fails,US,Cirtcuit Court of Appeals,Manhattan,Judge,Denny Chin,Prosecutors,Jury,Lawyer,RICO,Act,Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
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