New Charges Filed Against R. Kelly
Singer songwriter R. Kelly returns to the news for his bad behavior as yet more charges are being filed against him. On Friday morning federal prosecutors in Brooklyn filed a superseding indictment charging him with nine counts that include racketeering, and eight violations of the Mann act including sexual trafficking across state lines.
The new indictment alleges that Kelly had sex with a girl that was under eighteen and gave her herpes without disclosing that he had the disease. This brings Kelly’s total federal charges in New York up to six alleged victims including three girls.
Other new charges against the singer include one that occurred last month when persecutors in Illinois also filed superseding charges against Kelly to which he pleaded not guilty. He currently faces 22 criminal charges involving the alleged abuse of 11 girls and woman spanning the years of 1994 to 2018.
Kelly’s lawyer, Steve Greenberg took social media on Friday afternoon to address the charges. He wrote on Twitter that the he does “not believe (the new set of charges) fundamentally change anything”. In August, Kelly pleaded not guilty to the previous set of charges filed against him in New York.
Previous New York indictments allege that Kelly and his team of managers, bodyguards, drivers, personal assistants, runners and members of the singer’s entourage were acting as an organized crime ring.
Kelly is currently in jail without bond after being arrested last July in Chicago. He is facing nearly two dozen federal charges as well as four indictments of sexual abuse in Cook County, Ill, to which he pleaded not guilty. He is also facing several civil suits and allegations from various women and he has two pending criminal charges in Minnesota.
Kelly’s case is further complicated by the coronavirus lockdowns. His legal team tried to visit him last Thursday to check on his wellbeing and talk about their legal strategy but they were blocked from entering corrections due to the health scare. Although Kelly is still permitted to call his lawyers from behind bars, the communication is not as effective as a face to face meeting and this situation will definitely be a setback to his case.
Despite the feelings the legal system may have towards Kelly, word is that the barring of his legal team is nothing personal. Jail staff will be suspending all visits for the next 30 days allowing only certain meet ups on a case by case basis.
Kelly once had a successful musical career. He sold over 75 million records worldwide making him the most successful R&B artist of the 1990’s and one of the world’s best selling music artist.
Since the 1990’s, Kelly has been charged with numerous sexual allegations, often involving underage girls. Although he was cleared of all charges in 2008, accusations kept coming in and his record label, RCA, began facing pressure to drop the artist and in 2019, they finally gave in.
Barring any setbacks, Kelly’s Brooklyn trial is set to begin on July 7 and his Illinois trial is set to begin on Oct. 13.
