Update (February 25, 2019): Prosecutors in Cook County, Illinois have reportedly received a new sex tape said to feature R. Kelly and a teenage girl.
Celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti, who has already given prosecutors one previously unseen tape allegedly featuring Kelly, turned over the new evidence Monday, TMZ reports. The new tape is said to feature the same couple seen in the first tape, and is believed to have been filmed a year later. It supposedly has the man Avenatti says is Kelly again referring to his partner's age as the two engage in sex acts.
After turning in the tape, Avenatti said he is working on getting a copy of a third previously unseen sex tape he claims features Kelly and a girl believed to be between 13- and 16-years-old.
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Kelly’s legal team has continued to deny the allegations faced by the singer, reports The Associated Press.
“He is a rock star. He doesn’t have to have nonconsensual sex,” Steve Greenberg, one of Kelly's lawyers, said following the singer's bond hearing Saturday.
"I think all the women are lying," Greenberg added. "Mr. Kelly is strong, he's got a lot of support and he's going to be vindicated on all these charges — one by one if it has to be."
Earlier on Monday, Kelly pleaded not guilty to aggravated criminal sexual abuse of four victims, reports WBEZ. He remains in custody on $1 million bond. The "Ignition" singer only needs to pay $100,000 of that amount, but his team claims he does not have the needed funds available.
Kelly is being held on charges of criminal sexual abuse of four victims aged 13–17. Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx announced charges on Friday related to crimes committed from 1998 to 2010, Reuters reports.
Original: R. Kelly has been charged with sex abuse in Cook County, Illinois.
The Chicago Sun-Times reports the singer now faces 10 counts of aggravated criminal sex abuse; he has not yet been taken into custody, but Cook County prosecutors hope to have a warrant out for his arrest by Friday evening.
A flood of new evidence has surfaced in the investigation into the allegations of rape, child pornography and child molestation Kelly faces.
As Blavity reported, celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti gave the office of the Cook County State’s Attorney a tape that shows a man Avenatti says is Kelly engaging in sexual acts with a female partner. On the tape, both partners make repeated references to the female partner’s “14-year-old p***y.”
Two women provided a Cook County grand jury sworn testimony this week, alleging under oath that Kelly has had sex with children, according to TMZ. One of the women reportedly gave jurors physical evidence to support her testimony; it currently isn’t clear what this evidence is.
TMZ also reports up to 12 women have accused Kelly of misconduct before the jury already.
Avenatti claims more evidence is on the way; he asserted Saturday there is at least one other previously unseen sex tape that shows Kelly having intercourse with a minor. This tape has yet to surface.
Avenatti also claims he has evidence the artist used illegal coercion and bribes to win his 2008 child pornography case. Like the new tape, this evidence has not yet been made public.
The lawyer told WGN he believes “the walls are closing in on R. Kelly,” and said, "I am confident the 25 year run of Robert Kelly sexually abusing and assaulting young girls is about to come to an end, finally."
Steven Greenberg, a member of Kelly’s legal team, has maintained his client’s innocence and told the Sun-Times Friday he’s received no communications from law enforcement suggesting Kelly has been charged with any crime. Greenberg also said he’d been told nothing about the grand jury investigation into his client’s alleged conduct.
As Illinois prosecutors work on their case against Kelly, ABC 7 reports the singer is also under federal investigation. According to the station, the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and the IRS are each currently investigating Kelly.
Additionally, as Blavity reported, Kelly is the subject of a criminal investigation in Georgia.
Now, check these out:
R. Kelly Is Now Reportedly Being Investigated By An Illinois Grand Jury
R. Kelly Is Now Under Criminal Investigation In Georgia
R. Kelly Is Reportedly Working On A Website Titled 'Surviving Lies' To Discredit His Accusers
