INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn unsealed a separate five-count indictment against R
Kelly on FridayEmbattled R-B singer R
Kelly was arrested Thursday night in Chicago on new federal sex-crime charges, just months after he was charged at the state level with
abuse and aggravated sexual assault.The 13-count indictment, brought by the U.S
attorney's office for the Northern District of Illinois, includes charges of child pornography, enticing a minor to engage in criminal
sexual activity and obstruction of justice, Joseph Fitzpatrick, an assistant United States attorney for the Northern District of Illinois,
told The Washington Post.Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn unsealed a separate five-count indictment against Kelly on Friday, accusing Kelly
of, among other things, leading a racketeering enterprise for two decades - dating from 1999 and continuing as recently as February of
2018.According to a letter filed by Richard Donoghue, U.S
Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, with the court Friday, Kelly participated during that time in "the sexual exploitation of
children, coercing and transporting women and girls to engage in illegal sexual activity, kidnapping and forced labor."For years, his staff
- managers, bodyguards, drivers and personal assistants - recruited women and underage girls as sexual partners for Kelly, according to the
The indictment says employees sometimes found these girls at Kelly's concerts and invited them backstage; other times the singer flew them
across the country to meet him on tour
Often, prosecutors say, the sexual activity was filmed and photographed.Kelly, according to the indictment, had "rules": the girls were to
call him "Daddy;" they weren't allowed to leave their rooms to eat or go to the bathroom without his permission; they had to wear baggy
clothing when not going with him to an event; and they were instructed to keep their heads down and were forbidden from looking at other
men.The indictment specifically details the abuse of five unnamed girls and women, three of whom were minors at the time
One alleged she was locked in a room for three days without food
When an employee eventually fed her, she became tired and dizzy and woke up with Kelly in the bedroom "under circumstances that made clear
he had sexually assaulted her while she was unconscious," Donoghue said
Another accused Kelly of having unprotected sex without divulging he had an infectious venereal disease
And a 16-year-old victim claimed Kelly physically abused her when she "disobeyed his sexual directives, including slapping, choking, and
isolating her in rooms for days at a time with no access to food."If convicted on all counts, Kelly faces decades in prison
He is expected to be arraigned in federal court in Chicago on Friday.In addition to Kelly, two of his former employees - Derrel McDavid and
Milton Brown - were charged in the Chicago case with conspiracy to receive child pornography
McDavid was also charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice.Steve Greenberg, Kelly's attorney, said in a statement Friday that the singer
was aware of the investigations and the charges were not a surprise
"He and his lawyers look forward to his day in court, to the truth coming out and to his vindication from what has been an unprecedented
assault by others for their own personal gain."The entertainer's legal troubles have mounted in recent months after a Lifetime docuseries,
Kelly," brought renewed attention to decades' worth of sexual-misconduct allegations
In February, Kelly was charged in Illinois state court with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, each carrying a potential
sentence of three to seven years in prison
He spent three days in Chicago's Cook County Jail before being released on a $1 million bond.The charges filed against Kelly by Cook County
prosecutors allege that he sexually abused four women, three of whom were minors at the time, between 1998 and 2010
It wasn't immediately clear whether the new federal charges were related to those allegations.An additional 11 counts were added in May
Kelly has pleaded not guilty to all the state-level charges, and denied the allegations in an explosive March interview with "CBS This
Morning" in which he cursed, screamed, pounded his fists and cried, claiming that he had been "assassinated" and "buried alive" by his
accusers.Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx commended the "collaborative efforts" of her office and federal law enforcement in securing
the new federal indictment."And let us be clear: this is not just about surviving R
For most victims, it's about surviving a less famous abuser, a trusted adult, or a total stranger," she said in a statement
Friday.Allegations that he sexually abused young girls have dogged Kelly, whose real name is Robert S
In 2008, he stood trial on child pornography charges stemming from a video that was sent to the Chicago Sun-Times that allegedly showed him
having sex with and urinating on an underage girl
The girl and her parents refused to testify, and Kelly was acquitted on all counts.Heightened scrutiny following the release of the Lifetime
documentary resulted in Kelly being dropped from his record label and launched a movement, #MuteRKelly, which encouraged radio stations to
stop playing the entertainer's music
It also prompted authorities in Chicago to open new investigations into the sexual misconduct allegations and plead for any potential
victims to come forward."There is nothing to be done to investigate these allegations without the cooperation of both victims and
witnesses," Foxx said at a news conference in January
"We cannot seek justice without you."(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is
published from a syndicated feed.)Get Breaking news, live coverage, and Latest News from India and around the world on
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