UPDATE 12:17 P.M. PST: The singer pleaded not guilty to each of the 11 sex-related crimes at his arraignment in Chicago on Thursday morning.
R. Kelly has been charged with 11 new sex-related crimes in Chicago.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Cook County prosecutors filed the new charges against the disgraced singer on Thursday.
Related: Everything We Know About R. Kelly’s Case!
They 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.
Reportedly, the counts pertain to a single victim, with the alleged incident happening in January 2010.
The four aggravated criminal sexual assault counts carry maximum terms of 30 years in prison.
Kelly’s defense attorney, Steve Greenberg, told the Sun-Times he received word of new charges from prosecutors, but did not see any filings in the case. He said he understood that the allegations are “from years ago.”
In February, the musician was charged with 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse, spanning at least two decades. The case involves four alleged victims, at least three of whom were younger than 17.
He pled not guilty to all charges, and was released from jail after a $100K bond — just 10 percent of his $1 million dollar bail — was posted.
In a March 2019 interview with Gayle King, the R&B artist slammed the allegations as “rumors” and “not true.”
When the CBS This Morning host asked if he had ever held any women against their will, an emotional Kelly responded:
“I don’t need to. Why would I?… How stupid would it be for R. Kelly, with all I’ve been through in my way, way past to hold somebody, let alone four, five or six, 50 you said. How stupid would I be to do that?”
He added:
“People are going back to my past — that’s exactly what they’re doing… They’re going back to the past, and they’re trying to add all of this stuff now to that, to make all of this stuff going now feel real to people.”
“That’s stupid, guys. Is this camera on me? That’s stupid. Use your common sense. Forget the blogs, forget how you feel about me. Hate me if you want to, love me if you want, but just use your common sense… How stupid would it be for me with my crazy past and what i’ve been through? ‘Oh, right now I just need to be a monster and hold girls against their will, chain them up in my basement, and don’t let them eat, and don’t let them out unless they need some shoes down the street from their uncle.’ Stop it. Y’all quit playing. Quit playing. I didn’t do this stuff. This is not me. I’m fighting for my f**king life.”
In regards to his February charges, the sentencing range for each Class 2 Felony is three to seven years, and is probationable. That means if the musician is convicted on all 10 counts, he could possibly face up to 70 years behind bars.
In 2008, Kelly was acquitted of child pornography charges.
[Image via WENN.]
-
Categories
