CHICAGO – Grammy-winning singer R. Kelly was charged on Thursday with 11 new felony counts of sexual assault and abuse that could, if he is convicted, send the R & B singer to prison for 30 years, the Chicago Sun Times reported.
Kelly was indicted by a Cook County Grand Jury on four counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, two counts of criminal sexual assault by force and two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, documents posted on the newspaper’s website showed.
He was also indicted on three counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse against a victim between the ages of 13 to 16, according to the documents. The allegations centre on someone identified only as J.P. in January 2010, with no other details provided.
R. 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,” the performer’s attorney, Steve Greenberg, wrote on Twitter.
“These are the same conduct, just charged differently, same alleged victim, same time frame, same facts. We expect the same results,” he wrote.
Kelly has denied abuse allegations for decades. In 2008, the singer was tried on child pornography charges and found not guilty.
Kelly, 52, pleaded not guilty in February to charges that he sexually assaulted three teenage girls and a fourth woman. The charges were brought after seven women including his ex-wife, appeared on a Lifetime television documentary and accused him of emotional and sexual abuse.
He spent a weekend in jail on the sex charges before being released on $100 000 bail on February 25.
The new charges carry a sentence of 30 years for Kelly if he is convicted, the Sun Times reported. (Reuters)
