R. Kelly Has Been Charged With 11 Additional Counts Of Sexual Abuse And Assault
The most serious charges carry a sentence of up to 30 years in prison.
Disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly has been charged by Chicago prosecutors with 11 additional counts of sexual abuse and assault, the most serious of which carry a sentence of up to 30 years in prison.
Warning: This article discusses sexual and child abuse.
The new charges against Kelly include four counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, two counts of criminal sexual assault by force, two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, and three counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse against a victim between the ages of 13 to 16. According to court documents seen by The Chicago Sun-Times, the charges related to an incident that is alleged to have taken place in January 2010.
Kelly had previously been indicted on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse relating to offences that are alleged to have taken place between 1998 and 2010 involving four victims aged between 13 and 16. According to Kelly’s lawyer Steve Greenberg, the new charges relate to one of those alleged victims, and do not constitute “a new case”
“He was recharged in an existing case, same alleged victim and time (a decade ago),” Greenberg tweeted earlier today. “It changes nothing.”
Although they may relate to the same alleged victim, the new charges against Kelly are the most serious he has faced thus far. While the February charges carry a maximum sentence of seven years in prison, the aggravated criminal sexual assault charges mean Kelly is now looking at up to three decades behind bars if convicted.
Allegations of sexual abuse and paedophilia have surrounded Kelly for years, and were outlined in the recent documentary series Surviving R. Kelly. Kelly has maintained his innocence, and in March told CBS’s Gayle King that he has been “assassinated” and “buried alive”.
Kelly is currently out on bail, but is set to face the court on the new charges on June 6.