Actor Jussie Smollett found guilty of staging fake hate crime
Prosecutors said Smollett, who is Black and gay, lied to police when he told them that he was accosted on a dark Chicago street by two masked strangers in January 2019
Actor Jussie Smollett, one-time star of the TV drama 'Empire', was found guilty on Thursday of staging a hate crime against himself in what prosecutors said was a bid to gain sympathy and boost his career.
Prosecutors said Smollett, who is Black and gay, lied to police when he told them that he was accosted on a dark Chicago street by two masked strangers in January 2019.
The actor faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison for each count when he is sentenced, although he could be given probation.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
The Cook County Circuit Court jury, which deliberated for nine hours, found Smollett, 39, guilty of five of the six felony disorderly conduct counts he faced, one for each time he was accused of lying to police.
Legal experts said Smollett would probably not spend significant time behind bars.
"While it's certainly possible that he could receive a sentence involving prison time, the much more likely scenario is that he would receive probation with some amount of community service," former Cook County Prosecutor Eryk Wachnik told Reuters.
Cook County Judge James Linn did not set a date for sentencing, but scheduled a pre-sentencing hearing for 27 January.
