R. Kelly is planning to appeal his conviction, according to his defense lawyer.
After the 12 Play singer’s guilty verdict was read on Monday (Sept. 27), Attorney Deveraux Cannick spoke to reporters outside the courthouse and gave an update about his client, saying that he was not expecting the outcome of the trial and will possibly file an appeal. “Of course Mr. Kelly is disappointed,” he said. “He was not anticipating this verdict because based on the evidence, why should he anticipate this verdict?… You saw witness after witness giving three, four, five different versions as to what they said happened here.”
Cannick also said that the government chose certain evidence to support its narrative. “You didn’t get to see what we saw in terms of the discovery. You didn’t get to see all the inconsistencies,” he said. “We said in our summation that the government cherry-picked their version that they thought would support the continuation of the narrative.”
“Why would he expect this verdict given all the inconsistencies that we saw?” the attorney added.
As REVOLT previously reported, Kelly was found guilty of one count of racketeering, with 14 underlying acts that included sexual exploitation of a child, bribery, kidnapping and sex trafficking charges. He was also convicted of eight additional counts of violations of the Mann Act, a sex trafficking law.
After the verdict was announced, Attorney Gloria Allred, who represented several of the victims who testified in the case, said the disgraced singer is the “worst” predator she has ever pursued. “Because of their courage and the outstanding work of federal agents and prosecutors in this case, justice has been done,” she said. “Let this be a message to other celebrities who also use their fame to prey on their fans and others who are unfortunate enough to come into contact with them: You’re also likely to face serious consequences for your criminal conduct.”
Kelly’s sentencing is scheduled for May 4 and he is facing anywhere from 10 years to life in prison for the charges.