Singer R. Kelly Hit With New Indictment In Chicago Federal Court

From Jason Meisner of The Chicago Tribune


Embattled singer R. Kelly has been hit with new federal charges in Chicago adding allegations that he sexually abused another minor victim for four years starting in 1997.

A superseding indictment made public Friday alleged Kelly sexually abused a girl identified in the charges only as “Minor 6.”

The charges also seek for the first time forfeiture of all assets of Kelly’s production company, Bass Productions Ltd., as well as a company owned by his longtime business manager and co-defendant, Derrel McDavid.

The new allegations are the latest in a string of legal woes for the onetime R&B superstar, who is facing charges in four jurisdictions related to the sexual abuse of girls and young women going back decades.

Kelly could be arraigned on the new charges at his next scheduled hearing in the case on March 5.

Kelly, 53, was originally charged in a 13-count federal indictment last July with conspiring with two former employees to rig his 2008 child pornography trial in Cook County by paying off witnesses and victims to change their stories.

The indictment also alleged Kelly, former manager McDavid and onetime employee Milton “June” Brown paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to recover child sex tapes before they fell into the hands of prosecutors.

U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber had set a trial date on those charges for April 27 but it’s likely that will be delayed given the new indictment announced Friday.

Kelly’s lawyer, Steven Greenberg, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, faces a separate racketeering conspiracy indictment in U.S. District Court in New York alleging he identified underage girls attending his concerts and groomed them for later sexual abuse.

The singer is also charged in four separate indictments in Cook County alleging he sexually assaulted or abused four women, three of whom were underage at the time. Additional charges are also pending in Minnesota, alleging Kelly solicited a teenager who asked for his autograph in 2001.

Kelly has pleaded not guilty to all charges. He’s been held without bond at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago since his July 2019 arrest.

This is a developing story. Check back for more details.