Prosecutors in Chicago have hit R Kelly with additional 11 felony counts for sexual misconduct.
Kelly was previously charged in February with 10 counts of criminal sex abuse relating to Kelly’s alleged sexual interactions with four women between 1998 and 2010.
The new charges, first reported by The Chicago Sun Times, include 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. The alleged offense occurred in January 2010, according to court documents.
Aggravated criminal sexual assault is classified as a Class X felony and each count carries a minimum of 6 years and maximum of 30 years in prison if Kelly is found guilty.
In addition to the case in Chicago, Kelly is the subject of a criminal investigation in Georgia over claims of assault and imprisonment. Additionally, a second grand jury has been assembled in the Southern District of New York, based on federal investigations by the F.B.I. and the I.R.S., according to The New Yorker, and a third grand jury could soon be convened by the Department of Homeland Security over allegations of sex trafficking.
The numerous legal cases against Kelly have left him in financial ruin and unable to pay child support.
Kelly’s attorney, Steve Greenberg, is confident his client will be cleared of all charges. “He’s a rock star, he doesn’t have to have nonconsensual sex,” Greenberg previously told reporters. Despite such a proclamation, Kelly’s legal team opted for the “he can’t read” defense in a recent civil case.
His former lawyer, meanwhile, believes Kelly is “guilty as hell.”
