MadameNoire
Source: JOSHUA LOTT / Getty
Since R. Kelly was found guilty of committing sex crimes against underage girls and women during his federal Brooklyn trial last week, he lost one of the honors that was given to him.
Back in 2013, Kelly was gifted the key to the city by Denise Marcelle, who was a member of Baton Rouge Metro Council. Marcelle is now stripping the convicted singer/songwriter of that honor, TMZ reported.
Marcelle said she didn’t know the magnitude of the allegations against Kelly back then and only knew that he was acquitted in his 2008 trial where he faced child pornography charges.
Now she sits on the Louisiana House of Representatives but since she is the one who gifted him with the key to the city, she rescind it.
Kelly was on trial for six weeks in Brooklyn, New York after being accused of being the head of a criminal enterprise that focused on recruiting underage girls and boys for sexual activity. The accusations spanned over a 25- year period. After the jury heard dozens of testimonies from people who witnessed Kelly’s abuse and who were abused by Kelly and only a handful of witnesses from the defense, they found Kelly guilty after deliberating for nine hours.
On September 27, Kelly was convicted of all nine charges against him including racketeering, sex trafficking, kidnapping and eight counts of violating the Mann Act. He is now facing 10 years to life in prison.
Cook County State Attorney Kim Foxx, who brought the charges against Kelly in 2019, said this conviction is a milestone especially for the Me Too Movement.
“It is my hope that through this trial and the toll that it has taken to get to this point, that we recognize that the movement is not at its fullest strength if everyone doesn’t have equal access to justice,” she told The New York Times.
