Shakur Found Guilty of Sex Abuse Charge

Rap star Tupac Shakur was found guilty Thursday of sexually abusing a woman he had invited to his hotel room, but he was acquitted of more serious sodomy and weapons charges.

Shakur, 23, who was shot five times during a robbery Wednesday, was not in the courtroom when the verdict was read. He had appeared earlier Thursday in a wheelchair, but his lawyer said he had returned to the hospital.

The jury, which reached its decision on the third day of deliberations, found the same verdict for a co-defendant, Charles Fuller, 24.

“We’re ecstatic,” said Shakur’s lawyer, Michael Warren. He said he was pleased that the jury “kept an open mind.”

Each man was convicted of three counts of first-degree sex abuse, which means they groped and touched the victim without her consent.

Each faces a maximum sentence of seven years in prison.

Judge Daniel Fitzgerald told attorneys in the case to return to court Monday, presumably to arrange a sentencing date.