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'The R Kelly Sex Abuse Case': Release date, case, accused and all you need to know about Court TV's coverage of the singer's trial

Kelly was charged with child pornography among other crimes where he allegedly videotaped himself having sex with at least four girls younger than 18, starting in 1998
PUBLISHED AUG 24, 2020
R Kelly (Getty Images)
R Kelly (Getty Images)

R&B singer R Kelly has enjoyed a long career in music, blemished by several allegations of abuse spanning over two decades. The stories date to the start of his career in the 1990s and mostly focus on his alleged predatory pursuit of teenage girls.

The entertainer, who is currently in federal prison in Chicago, is facing multiple state and federal charges in the US. The accusations range from alleged sexual assault and abuse of a minor to producing indecent images of minors and obstruction of justice. But the 53-year-old has constantly denied the allegations against him. His legal problems were further ignited by the TV show 'Surviving R Kelly', and he is also facing additional state trials in Minnesota and Illinois. Now Court TV is giving us access to the case in a segment titled 'The R Kelly Sex Abuse Case'. Here's all you need to know about it.

Release date

The airing date for 'The R Kelly Sex Abuse Case' has not been announced yet. Please watch this space for updates. 

Case

Kelly is facing a separate five-count indictment in the US District Court of New York, which accuses him of sexual exploitation of a child, kidnapping and forced labor. It also arraigns him of violations of the Mann Act involving coercion and transportation of women and girls in interstate commerce for the purpose of engaging in illegal sexual activity, from 1999 to present. Kelly was charged on February 14 in a 13-count superseding indictment of child pornography and other crimes, including videotaping himself having sex with at least four girls younger than 18, beginning in 1998.

Court documents also said that years later, when he realized that some of the videos from his "collection" were missing he began paying "hundreds of thousands of dollars" to recover them. His trial had been postponed after federal prosecutors said they need time to analyze several hundred electronic devices. He last appeared in court in March 2020 and pleaded not guilty to an updated federal indictment that included sex abuse allegations involving a new accuser. The trial which had been set for April 27, was pushed to October 13, upon the prosecutors' request.

Singer Aaliyah attends the world premiere of the film 'Planet of the Apes' on July 23, 2001, at the Ziefield Theatre in New York City (Getty Images)

The allegations against Kelly have been around since the start of his carer. In 1994, 27-year-old Kelly married 15-year-old Aaliyah in a secret ceremony in Chicago. Vibe magazine later discovered that Aaliyah had lied about her age and said she was 18 in the certificate. The marriage was annulled the following year.

Tiffany Hawkins sued Kelly for the "personal injuries and emotional distress" she suffered while in a three-year relationship with the star. The court documents, dated 1996, detailed that she said she began having sex with Kelly when she was 15 and he was 24. She sought $10M in damages but accepted $250,000 when the case was settled in 1998. In 2001, Tracy Sampson, a former intern at Epic Records, sued Kelly, accusing him of inducing her "into an indecent sexual relationship" at 17. She claimed she was "treated as his personal sex object and cast aside".The case was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum, per the New York Post.

Patrice Jons, a Chicago woman, sued Kelly in 2002 over claims that he impregnated her when she was underaged and she was forced to have an abortion. The following month, another woman called Montina Woods sued Kelly, alleging that he videotaped them having sex without her knowledge and the recording was allegedly circulated around. The cases were settled out of court for an undisclosed sum in return for a non-disclosure agreement. In 2002, the star was charged with 21 counts of making child pornography, involving intercourse, oral sex and other sexual acts. Chicago police arrested him after a video, which was sent to Chicago Sun-Times earlier that year, was checked for authenticity by FBI experts. He was accused of videotaping the act and enticing a minor, a girl born in September 1984, to participate in them. Kelly posted a $750,000 bail, denied the charges and pleaded not guilty in court, later on. 

Singer R Kelly appears standing beside his attorney Steven Greenberg during a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse on September 17, 2019, in Chicago, Illinois (Getty Images)

Between 2003 and 2004, Kelly was charged with 12 more counts of making child pornography in Florida, where he was arrested at his holiday home. The police had seized a camera during the arrest, which allegedly contained images of the singer having sex with an underage girl. In 2017, a long and detailed Buzzfeed article, written by Jim DeRogatis, accused Kelly of trapping six women in a sex "cult". It claimed that he seduced young women when they approached him for help in their music careers and eventually took control of their lives. The allegations came from three former employees and the parents of several women, who claimed their daughters had nearly vanished. Kelly, once again, incessantly denied the allegations. The Buzzfeed allegations prompted further allegations and victims approached the press with their stories.

In July 2019, Kelly was hit with two separate federal indictments in Illinois and Brooklyn. Both allegations said that the star and his associates were involved in recruiting and transporting underage girls over the state line for illegal sexual purposes, including the production of child pornography as well as conspiracy to construct justice by destroying evidence and threatening or bribing any witnesses. He appeared in court in August and pleaded not guilty to the charges but was denied bail because he posed a flight risk. A few days later, prosecutors in Minnesota filed prostitution charges against the singer. He now faces three criminal cases in three US states. 

Accused

R Kelly

In this handout provided by Cook County Sheriff’s Office, R Kelly poses for a mugshot photo after being arrested for $161,663 in unpaid child support March 6, 2019 (Getty Images)

Robert Sylvester Kelley, known by his stage name R Kelly, is a singer-songwriter, record producer, actor and former semi-professional basketball player. Often credited for redefining the genre of modern R&B and hip-hop, he has earned himself several accolades and nicknames such as 'the Kings of R&B', 'the King of Pop-Soul' and the 'Pied-Piper of R&B'.

He is best known for his songs 'I Believe I Can Fly' (which won him a Grammy in 1998), 'Bump N' Grind' and 'Gotham City' among others. Kelly has also written, produced and remixed songs, singles and albums for other artists. In 1996, he was nominated for a Grammy Award for writing Michael Jackson's 'You Are Not Alone'. He has sold over 75M records worldwide with 32M album sales in the US alone, making him the most successful R&B male artist in the 1990s. In July 2019, Kelly was arrested on federal charges alleging sex crimes and obstruction of justice. He is currently incarcerated at Metropolitan Correctional Center, Chicago. 

Creators

Court TV is a multi-platform network devoted to live coverage with in-depth reporting and expert analysis of the nation's most important and compelling trials. Court TV is part of Katz Networks, a division of The EW Scripps Company.

Trailer

We will update this space with the official trailer for 'The R Kelly Sex Abuse Case' soon. 

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