Jussie Smollett has been found guilty of lying to Chicago cops, and the world, about being the victim of a racist and homophobic attack, according to a jury.
Jurors found the Empire actor guilty of 5 of the 6 felony counts against him, and he stood stone-faced in court hearing the verdicts being read out. Smollett was facing disorderly conduct charges for allegedly providing a false report to the police. Prosecutors charged him with each time he provided a false report.
The first 5 counts against him were for lying on January 29, 2019 to police – the night of the alleged attack. The 6th charge, for which he was found not guilty, was for a separate interview with the Chicago Police Department on Febuary 14 when he told a detective he was a victim of aggravated burglary.
Smollett maintained his innocence for over two years, insisting that he did not hire brothers Abel and Bola Osundairo to stage the racist and homophobic attack in the middle of the night.
With this guilty verdict, Jussie Smollett will likely have to pay restitution to Chicago in the amount of $130k – the amount the city says it spent on investigating the attack.
Smollett had claimed that the Osundairo brothers were his drug dealers – the brothers claimed that they were merely suppliers – and that he had a sexual relationship with Bola, despite Bola testifying under oath that there was no sexual relation between the two. These were all done in an attampt to poke holes in the brothers credibility, as they testified that Smollett gave them instructions on where to carry out the attack and what to do.
Now, Smollett faces a possible 3-year prison sentence, but with no prior criminal record, it remains to be seen whether this sentence will be carried out.
He was not taken into custody, and remains free pending the sentencing.
Previously, the City of Chicago sued Smollett over lost resources investigating his claims, but if the money has to be paid back as part of his sentence, the civil suit will be rendered moot.
