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R Kelly: Singer charged with sexual offences in Chicago | R Kelly: Singer charged with sexual offences in Chicago |
(about 2 hours later) | |
Singer R Kelly has been charged on Friday with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, some involving underage victims, US media report. | Singer R Kelly has been charged on Friday with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, some involving underage victims, US media report. |
The R&B star, whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, has faced claims of sexual abuse against women and teenage girls for decades. | The R&B star, whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, has faced claims of sexual abuse against women and teenage girls for decades. |
He has never been convicted and has previously denied all the allegations. | He has never been convicted and has previously denied all the allegations. |
The 52-year-old is expected in court in Chicago, where he lives, on 8 March, which is International Women's Day. | |
Prosecutors allege the abuse of four victims took place between 1998 and 2010 - three of the victims were aged 13 to 16 at the time of their reported assaults. | |
On Thursday, two new women brought forward fresh allegations of sexual misconduct when they were teenagers in the mid-90s. | |
A warrant for Kelly's arrest has been issued, police said Friday, and if convicted the singer faces a maximum of seven years in prison for each count. | |
Kelly's lawyer told the Chicago Sun-Times he had not been notified of the charges against his client before the news broke, but said R Kelly denied any wrongdoing. | |
Last week, lawyer Michael Avenatti said that his office had uncovered previously unreleased footage of Kelly having sex with a young girl, which was then handed to the Cook County State Attorney, whose jurisdiction includes Chicago. It is unclear if the charges are related to this video. | |
The US broadcaster CNN is reported to have seen the footage, which is 42 minutes long, and described it as "clear and explicit". | |
There have been calls in recent months to boycott Kelly's music - both recordings and performances - with negative messages posted on social media using the hashtag #MuteRKelly. | There have been calls in recent months to boycott Kelly's music - both recordings and performances - with negative messages posted on social media using the hashtag #MuteRKelly. |
Kelly, best known for hit song I Believe I Can Fly, has faced numerous accusations of sexual misconduct, making indecent images of children and other offences. | Kelly, best known for hit song I Believe I Can Fly, has faced numerous accusations of sexual misconduct, making indecent images of children and other offences. |
The singer is the subject of the documentary Surviving R Kelly, which premiered in New York in December and featured women who accuse him of sexual and physical abuse. | The singer is the subject of the documentary Surviving R Kelly, which premiered in New York in December and featured women who accuse him of sexual and physical abuse. |
In 2017, Kelly denied allegations that he was holding a number of young women captive in a so-called "abusive cult". | In 2017, Kelly denied allegations that he was holding a number of young women captive in a so-called "abusive cult". |
He was arrested in 2002 over footage that showed child sex abuse, including one in which he allegedly urinated over an underage girl. A jury was unable to identify beyond doubt the man in the video, and Kelly was acquitted six years later. |