R. Kelly Hit With 11 New Charges
• Singer R. Kelly, who earlier this year was charged with 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse, has now been hit with 11 new counts of sexual assault and sexual abuse, according to Cook County, IL court records cited by the Chicago Tribune and reported by Variety.
The Tribune story says four of the new counts charge Kelly with aggravated criminal sexual assault — which carry a sentence of six to 30 years in prison if he is convicted.
Three of the new counts accuse Kelly of sexually abusing a victim between the ages of 13 and 16, the paper says. It was unclear whether the victim in question is one of the four victims — three of whom were underage — that Kelly was charged in February with sexually abusing, although Tribune reporter Megan Crepeau reports that these new counts appear to be additional charges from a woman identified as “J.P.” who was at the center of one of the February indictments. Kelly has pleaded not guilty to the counts from February.
While accusations of sexual misconduct against underage girls have swirled around Kelly for decades, he has become increasingly embattled in recent months, particularly in the wake of the Lifetime docu-series, Surviving R. Kelly. He was subsequently dropped by his longtime record label, RCA, and has faced challenges booking concerts, cutting off much of his sources of income.
