R Kelly surrenders to police in Chicago after being charged with 10 counts of sexual abuse
Three of the four victims listed by Cook County State’s Attorney Kimberly Foxx were underage at the time of the alleged abuse
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R Kelly has surrendered to police after being charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
The disgraced R&B singer, who for decades has dodged allegations of sexual misconduct, turned himself in to Chicago authorities on Friday evening (22 February), accompanied by his lawyer, Steve Greenberg. He is set to appear for a bond hearing on Saturday.
Cook County State’s Attorney Kimberly Foxx formally announced the charges against Kelly at a press conference on Friday afternoon.
She listed four victims during her announcement and said three of them were under the age of 17 at the time of the alleged abuse, and said the incidents allegedly took place between 1998 and 2010.
Attorney Michael Avenatti claimed earlier this month that a newly uncovered video showed the singer sexually assaulting an underage girl.
The lawyer said he and his team delivered the tape, along with other information, to Foxx’s office.
The tape, viewed by CNN, reportedly shows Kelly performing multiple sex acts with a girl. Both of them allegedly refer to the girl’s body parts as “14-year-old” in the tape.
Avenatti then claimed earlier this week that another tape allegedly showed further acts of sexual abuse of an underage girl by R Kelly.
Kelly has faced accusations of sexual misconduct for two decades and has never been convicted.
Allegations against him came under closer scrutiny and calls for police action following the release of the documentary Surviving R Kelly in January.
Kelly’s lawyer, Steve Greenberg, has previously denied all accusations against the singer, saying that Kelly never knowingly had sex with an underage person.