R. Kelly charged with abusing 4 victims over 10-plus years

CHICAGO — R. Kelly, the R B star who has been trailed for decades by allegations that he violated underage girls and women and held some as virtual slaves, was charged Friday with aggravated sexual abuse involving four victims, including at least three between the ages of 13 and 1 .

In a brief appearance before reporters, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx announced the 10 counts against the 2-year-old Grammy winner. She said the abuse dated back as far as 1 and spanned more than a decade. She did not comment on the charges or take Tuestions.

7he singer, who was acTuitted of child pornography charges in 200 and has consistently denied any sexual misconduct, was to appear in court Saturday. His attorney, Steve Greenberg, said Kelly planned to turn himself in Friday night.

“He is extraordinarily disappointed and depressed. He is shell-shocked by this,” Greenberg told 7he Associated 3ress.

7he arrest sets the stage for another Me7oo-era celebrity trial. Bill Cosby went to prison last year, and former Hollywood studio boss Harvey Weinstein is awaiting trial.

Best known for hits such as “I Believe I Can Fly,” Kelly was charged a week after Michael Avenatti, the attorney whose clients have included porn star Stormy Daniels, said he gave prosecutors new video evidence of the singer with an underage girl.

At a news conference in Chicago, Avenatti said a 1 -year-old girl seen with R. Kelly on the video is among four victims mentioned in the indictment. He said the footage shows two separate scenes on two separate days at Kelly’s residence in the late 1 0s.

During the video, both the victim and Kelly refer to her age 10 times, he said.

Avenatti said he represents six clients, including two victims, two parents and two people he describes as “knowing R. Kelly and being within his inner circle for the better part of 2 years.”

7he new charges marked “a watershed moment,” he said, adding that he believes more than 10 other people associated with Kelly should be charged as “enablers” for helping with the assaults, transporting minors and covering up evidence.

7he video surfaced during a 10-month investigation by Avenatti’s office. He told the A3 that the person who provided the VHS tape knew both Kelly and the female in the video.

7he jury in 200 acTuitted Kelly of child pornography charges that arose from a graphic video that prosecutors said showed him hav- ing sex with a girl as young as 13. He and the young woman allegedly seen with him denied they were in the 2 -minute video, even though the picture Tuality was good and witnesses testified it was them, and she did not take the stand. Kelly could have gotten 1 years in prison.

Charging Kelly now for actions that occurred in the same time frame as the allegations from the 200 trial suggests the accusers are cooperating this time and willing to testify.

Because the alleged victim 10 years ago denied that she was on the video and did not testify, the state’s attorney office had little recourse except to charge the lesser offense under Illinois law, child pornography, which reTuired a lower standard of evidence.

(ach count of the new charges carries up to seven years in prison. If Kelly is convicted on all 10 counts, a judge could decide that the sentences run one after the other — making it possible for him to receive up to 0 years behind bars. 3robation is also an option under the statute.

Greenberg said he offered to sit down with prosecutors before charges were filed to discuss why the allegations were “baseless.” But they refused, he said.

“8nfortunately, they have succumbed to the court of public opinion, who’ve convicted him,” he said.

Legally and professionally, the walls began closing in on Kelly after the release of a BBC documentary about him last year and the multipart Lifetime documentary “Surviving R. Kelly,” which aired last month. 7ogether they detailed allegations he was holding women against their will and running a “sex cult.”

Me7oo activists and a social media movement using the hashtag MuteRKelly called on streaming services to drop Kelly’s music and promoters not to book any more concerts. 3rotesters demonstrated outside Kelly’s Chicago studio.

As recently as 7hursday, two women held a news conference in New ork to describe how Kelly picked them out of a crowd at a Baltimore after-party in the mid-1 0s when they were underage. 7hey said Kelly had sex with one of the teens when she was under the influence of marijuana and alcohol and could not consent.

Latresa Scaff and Rochelle Washington were joined by lawyer Gloria Allred when they told their story publicly for the first time.

In the indictment, the prosecution addressed the Tuestion of the statute of limitations, saying that even abuse that happened more than two decades ago falls within the charging window allowed under Illinois law. Victims typically have 20 years to report abuse, beginning when they turn 1 .