R Kelly faces 11 more serious sexual assault and abuse charges in new court case
R. Kelly is currently facing new charges related to sexual assault and other sex abuse crimes; charges more serious than anything else the singer has faced. According to the Chicago Tribune, Kelly was charged on Thursday with 11 new felonies. Some of the charges carry a potential sentence of up to 30 years in prison.
The additional charges the singer is charged for are four counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, two counts of criminal sexual assault by force, two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and three counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse against a victim between the ages of 13 to 16.
Kelly's attorney, Steve Greenberg told the paper he had received the news about the new charges from prosecutors but has still not seen any filings in the case. Apart from that, he added, “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.”
In an interview with The Blast, Gerald Griggs, an attorney who represents the family of one of Kelly's alleged victims, revealed, "This further cements the fact that the victims have been true to their stories and law enforcement is finally listening.” Kelly is scheduled to appear in court for the new case June 6.
According to the Associated Press, the charges apparently pertain to a single victim. Kelly was already facing 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse involving four women years ago, three of whom were minors when the alleged abuse occurred.
The new charges pertain to a victim identified in the court filing by the initials "J.P." It isn't clear if the person is the same as one of the initial four accusers who also was identified by the same initials in court documents. Kelly pleaded not guilty to the original charges and denied any wrongdoing after his February arrest. The AP couldn't immediately reach him for comment about the new charges.
With inputs from AP.