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R. Kelly Charged With Sexual Abuse in Chicago R. Kelly Charged With 10 Counts of Sexual Abuse in Chicago
(about 2 hours later)
The R&B singer R. Kelly was charged on Friday in Chicago with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in connection with four victims, according to Cook County state’s attorney Kim Foxx. For more than two decades, the R&B singer R. Kelly has been trailed by allegations of sexual misconduct. He was married to a young singer who turned out to be 15 years old. There were claims that he controlled women in a cultlike atmosphere. An infamous sex tape. None of it meaningfully stood in his way.
Mr. Kelly, who has been trailed by accusations of sexual misconduct for two decades, has been under renewed scrutiny since the documentary “Surviving R. Kelly” was broadcast on Lifetime in January. Then, on Friday in Chicago, Mr. Kelly was charged.
The celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti said last week that he had obtained a video showing Mr. Kelly having sex with a 14-year-old girl, and given it to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in Chicago. He has said that Mr. Kelly and the girl refer to her age multiple times in the video, which is more than 40 minutes long. The authorities are accusing him of aggravated criminal sexual abuse involving four victims, three of whom were underage, according to the Cook County state’s attorney Kim Foxx. Aggravated criminal sexual abuse can carry a sentence of three to seven years in prison for each count. Mr. Kelly faces 10 of them.
Ms. Foxx said the events occurred between 1998 and 2010. Mr. Kelly was accused of ejaculating on a fourth victim, identified by the initials L.C., during an attempted criminal sexual assault.
This is not the first time that Mr. Kelly has been charged with a crime. He was arrested on child pornography charges in 2002 over a tape prosecutors said showed him having sex with and urinating on an underage girl. He was acquitted on all 14 counts he faced in the case, in 2008.
Mr. Kelly came under renewed scrutiny after the documentary “Surviving R. Kelly” was broadcast on Lifetime in January. The six-part series included testimony from several women who accused the singer of abuse. The celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti said last week that he had obtained a video showing Mr. Kelly having sex with a 14-year-old girl, and had given it to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in Chicago. He has said that Mr. Kelly and the girl refer to her age multiple times in the video, which is more than 40 minutes long.
[What we know about R. Kelly’s two-decade trail of sexual abuse accusations.][What we know about R. Kelly’s two-decade trail of sexual abuse accusations.]
On Thursday, two additional women came forward at a news conference in New York organized by their lawyer, Gloria Allred, to accuse Mr. Kelly of sexual abuse and misconduct when they were minors. The women, Latresa Scaff, 40, and Rochelle Washington, 39, said they met the singer after a concert in the mid-1990s when they were 16 and 15; they said he asked for a threesome and had sex with Ms. Scaff.On Thursday, two additional women came forward at a news conference in New York organized by their lawyer, Gloria Allred, to accuse Mr. Kelly of sexual abuse and misconduct when they were minors. The women, Latresa Scaff, 40, and Rochelle Washington, 39, said they met the singer after a concert in the mid-1990s when they were 16 and 15; they said he asked for a threesome and had sex with Ms. Scaff.
Steven Greenberg, Mr. Kelly’s lawyer, did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but he has said that Mr. Kelly “denies that he has engaged in any illegal conduct, of any kind whatsoever.” Aggravated criminal sexual abuse can carry a sentence of three to seven years in prison. “This may not be the only prosecution of Mr. Kelly, because we are aware of other open investigations in other jurisdictions,” Ms. Allred said on Friday.
Steven Greenberg, Mr. Kelly’s lawyer, did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but he has said that Mr. Kelly “denies that he has engaged in any illegal conduct, of any kind whatsoever.”
“We’re glad to see the allegations against R. Kelly are being taken seriously and hope that these charges empower victims to come forward,” RAINN, the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, said in a statement. “The survivors who shared their stories showed admirable courage and strength.”
Mr. Kelly, 52, has never been convicted of a crime, but he has faced accusations of sexual misconduct and abuse for years. More than 20 years ago, Vibe magazine questioned a marriage certificate that said the singer Aaliyah was 18 when she and Mr. Kelly were wed. She was, in fact, 15 at the time and the marriage was annulled. Mr. Greenberg has said Mr. Kelly did not know she was underage at the time. Aaliyah died in a plane crash in 2001.Mr. Kelly, 52, has never been convicted of a crime, but he has faced accusations of sexual misconduct and abuse for years. More than 20 years ago, Vibe magazine questioned a marriage certificate that said the singer Aaliyah was 18 when she and Mr. Kelly were wed. She was, in fact, 15 at the time and the marriage was annulled. Mr. Greenberg has said Mr. Kelly did not know she was underage at the time. Aaliyah died in a plane crash in 2001.
The following year, Mr. Kelly was arrested on child pornography charges, over a tape prosecutors said showed him having sex with and urinating on an underage girl. After six years of delays, Mr. Kelly was acquitted in 2008 on all 14 charges against him. The girl from the video never testified, and Mr. Kelly’s lawyers argued that her identity could not be proven. Now a legacy act selling concert tickets largely on the strength of his catalog, Mr. Kelly was a powerful hitmaker when he was arrested on child pornography charges in 2002. He continued to release hits as his lawyers filed motion after motion, delaying the trial for six years. The girl from the video never testified, and though 14 witnesses identified her, Mr. Kelly’s lawyers argued successfully that her identity could not be proven.
In 2017, the music journalist Jim DeRogatis wrote articles for BuzzFeed that described Mr. Kelly keeping women in a “cult,” in which he separated them from their families and exerted tremendous control over their lives. In 2017, the allegations picked up again when the music journalist Jim DeRogatis wrote articles for BuzzFeed News that described Mr. Kelly keeping women in a “cult,” in which he separated them from their families and exerted tremendous control over their lives.
After so many years in which Mr. Kelly seemed impervious to the accusations against him, things seemed to take a turn in January, after “Surviving R. Kelly” caused a stir. Law enforcement authorities in Illinois and Georgia, where he has lived, began looking into his conduct. And after tremendous public pressure from activists, Mr. Kelly was dropped by his label, RCA, just two weeks after the program aired. While Mr. Kelly seemed impervious to the accusations, things appeared to take a turn in January, after “Surviving R. Kelly” caused a stir. Law enforcement authorities in Illinois and Georgia, where he has lived, began looking into his conduct. And after tremendous public pressure from activists, Mr. Kelly was dropped by his label, RCA, just two weeks after the program aired.