A Chicago jury has found that actor Jussie Smollett lied to police when he claimed to have been the victim of a racial and homophobic attack.
Smollett, 39, maintained his denials during his trial this week that he planned the phoney attack against himself.
Prosecutors said that he “lied for hours” on the stand, repeating what he told Chicago cops.
On Thursday, he was convicted guilty of five charges of disorderly behaviour.
Each offence carries a potential prison sentence of up to three years. Experts predict a reduced sentence or probation for Smollett due to his lack of prior convictions. A date for sentencing has yet to be set.
One day after deliberations began, the jury of six men and six women reached a conclusion.
The case arose from an incident that occurred nearly three years ago, in January 2019, when the former Empire star claimed he was the victim of a crime.
Authorities launched an investigation into the attack, but in February of the following year, Smollett was charged with filing a fake police report, claiming he orchestrated the attack.
He was charged with six counts of lying to the police, each pertaining to a different occurrence in which he was accused of doing so. He was convicted on five of the six charges, with the sixth remaining unproven in court.
At the trial, brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo testified that Smollett plotted the attack himself and paid them $3,500 (£2,600) to carry it out.
*This article was written by Gerald Gekara for Uzalendo News. Email: uzalendonews24@gmail.com to submit your story.
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL
