Next month, a new trial against R. Kelly (54) will start in New York state. The prosecutors have already announced that they have collected new evidence against the singer and want to use it in court. Various American media report this.
It would concern new statements of s*xual abuse of twenty anonymous women and two anonymous men. One of the men is said to have been only seventeen years old when R. Kelly allegedly forced him into s*xual acts.
According to TMZ, the singer met the boy in 2006 at a McDonald’s branch. Kelly then invited the boy to visit him at his home in Chicago. The then still minor boy accepted but did bring his parents with him. Federal agents claim that the singer then asked the child to come alone next time, which they did.
“Kelly asked him what he would give to succeed in the music industry,” the court documents said. “He then clarified that he wanted the boy to have sexual contacts with him.” That would have been the moment when the boy was s*xually abused.
‘Musical career’
As with many young female victims of Kelly, the singer promised to help the boy with his musical career, something to which the minor was clearly sensitive. The boy, who wishes to remain anonymous, also introduced Kelly to another male minor, who was 16 years old at the time. The singer would have also abused him.
According to the officers, Kelly had a s*xual relationship with the boys and wanted them to have sex with some of the girls who “lived” with him, voluntarily or involuntarily. He then videotaped those actions, not only for his own pleasure but also to blackmail his victims.
Charges
Kelly will appear in New York court for the same charges he faces in Chicago: detaining underage girls against their will, coercing them into sexual acts, and physically and verbally assaulting them.
R. Kelly already has a lot of facts to his name. His image was first dented in 2001 when several allegations surfaced. He was charged with s*xual misconduct by several women. One of the victims claimed that Kelly had s*x with her when she was only 17. Other accusations are that he forced a woman to have an abortion and that he would have made images during s*x. Barely a year later, the rapper was also charged with possession of child pornography.
Various lawsuits
The list of charges grew over the years. He was arrested again after pictures of child pornography were found in his house. Between all the accusations, the rapper continued to make music and release albums, but in 2017 the bomb exploded again. Buzzfeed then published an investigation into Kelly’s misdeeds showing that the singer lived with six women and controlled every aspect of their lives. There were also lawsuits for threats made by the singer and allegations that he sexually abused several underage girls.
As if that were not enough, the rapper was sued last year by his former landlord because he would have no less than $3.4 million in arrears. R. Kelly continues to deny everything to this day. Yet he has been under lock and key since 2019, pending a verdict. The selection of the jury members is due to start on August 9 in New York.
