Prosecutors in Cook County, Illinois, have charged R. Kelly with even more serious sex crimes.
The embattled R&B singer was hit with 11 new felony sex assault charges yesterday. These include four counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, three counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a victim between 13 and 16, two counts of criminal sexual assault by force, and two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
If convicted, Kelly could face up to 30 years in jail.
The new charges stem from an incident that occurred in January 2010 against a single victim. Prosecutors didn’t specify the details about the abuse the minor suffered at the singer’s hands.
Currently, Kelly remains free on $1 million bond after his indictment from a sex abuse case last February. Four alleged victims, including three underage girls, accused the beleaguered singer of sexual abuse. Facing ten counts of aggravated sexual abuse against the four women, he’ll reappear in court on June 6th.
Here comes the spin.
According to Kelly’s defense attorney, Steve Greenberg, the Cook County filings aren’t exactly new.
“We’ll see what the charges are, and we’ll proceed accordingly. I know this much: it’s old. They’re allegations from years ago.”
Attempting to quell the viral rumors about the new charges, he took to Twitter to defend his embattled client.
“[Kelly] was NOT charged with a new case. He was recharged in an existing case, same alleged victim and time (a decade ago). It changes nothing.
“These are the same conduct, just charged differently, same alleged victim, same time frame, same facts. We expect the same results.”
Prosecutors say Kelly met the then-16-year-old victim – ‘J.P.’ – at a hearing following his 2008 child pornography trial. The R&B singer allegedly had sex with her “multiple” times at his home in Olympia Fields, Illinois between May 2009 and January 2010.
The Chicago Sun-Times explained the four aggravated criminal sexual counts are Class X felonies in Illinois (the most serious felony offense, just short of murder). They carry a sentence of up to 30 years. The three counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse are Class 2 felonies in the state. They carry a maximum sentence of 7 years.