R. Kelly was charged Friday with sexual abuse in Cook County, Illinois. The R&B star was indicted on ten counts of agrgavated criminal sexual abuse involving four victims, according to Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx.
R. Kelly was charged Friday with several counts of sexual abuse in Cook County, Illinois. The R&B star was indicted before a grand jury on ten counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, involving four female minors, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx said at a press conference Friday. Kelly, whose legal name is Robert Kelly, is not in custody. Three of the four victims were between the ages 13 and 17 when the alleged abuse occurred, with Kelly being more than five years older than the victims, Foxx said. The alleged abuse took place between September 1998 and January 2010. The idictment papers do not say where the alleged crimes took place. Foxx referred to the victims by their initials. The first victim said she was abused four times, between May 26,1998 and May 25,1999. The second victim said she was abused twice, between Sept. 26,1998 and Sept. 25,2001. The third victim said she was abused on Feb. 18,2003. The fourth victim said she was abuse three times, between May 1,2009 and Jan. 31,2010. Foxx said aggravated criminal sexual abuse is a class 2 felony. If convicted, Kelly could face up to seven years in prison for each count. If a judge decides the sentences should be consecutive, he could be sentenced to up to 70 years in prison. Foxx said probation is an option. Kelly is expected to be in bond court Saturday afternoon, Foxx said. Court records show he is also scheduled to make a court appearance on March 8 at 9 a.m. Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson was also present at the news conference, but did not make any comments. Kelly has denied all allegations of sexual misconduct. His attorney, Steve Greenberg, has not commented on Friday’s charges, but has said in the past that his client never intentionally had sex with an underage girl. The 52-year-old Grammy winner is one of the top-selling recording artists of all time, with hits such as “I Believe I Can Fly”. In the indictment, the prosecution addresses the question of the statute of limitations, which is likely to be raised by the defense. It describes how prosecutors can charge Kelly under Illinois law even though the alleged crimes occurred as much as two decades ago.
