By Karen Sloan

(Reuters) – The late addition of a lawyer with experience handling high-profile clients wasn’t enough to help singer R. Kelly beat charges that he sexually abused women for decades.

Attorney Deveraux Cannick, who joined Kelly’s legal team just a few months before the long-awaited trial, argued in court that his accusers were former fans who became disgruntled after falling out of his favor, and that his sexual relationships were consensual. He made headlines for comparing Kelly to the slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.

A federal jury in Brooklyn on Monday convicted Kelly of sex trafficking, after prosecutors spent nearly six weeks making the case that the singer used his fame to exploit women and have sex with underage girls.

Cannick said outside the courthouse that the defense team was disappointed by Monday’s verdict and would consider appealing. Cannick did not respond immediately to Monday’s request for comment.

Kelly fired two members of his team’s lawyers during internal tension in June. Former Kelly defense lawyer Steve Greenberg claimed that he had clashed with two members of his defense team who were “unable to deal with stress.”

According to court filings, Cannick appeared in Kelly’s case for the first time on June 22.

He is part of five-attorney firm Aiello & Cannick, based in Queens. According to the firm’s website, his clients have included Saikou Diallo, the father of Amadou Diallo, who was shot 41 times by New York City police officers in 1999. He helped secure the state’s largest wrongful death settlement at the time.

Cannick, who early in his career worked in the Bronx County District Attorney’s office, specializes in criminal defense and civil rights cases. Cannick represented Tekashi 6ix9ine (Chicago rapper) in 2019. Cannick claimed that he orchestrated his abduction for publicity. Cannick’s client was found guilty and sentenced to 24 years in prison.