R. Kelly Faces New Federal Indictment In Chicago; Adding New Victim, But Removing Another
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A new federal indictment has been handed down against embattled singer R. Kelly in Chicago, adding a new sexual abuse victim not mentioned in the original case, but removing another victim from the charges.
According to the original charges in Chicago, Kelly sexually abused five girls in the late 1990s, made four videos of one of the victims, and then paid hush money and made threats to cover up his sex crimes.
One of the victims from the original indictment, identified only as Minor 2, has now been removed from a list of the victims. She is identified in the new indictment as Individual D, though the new charges no longer accuse Kelly of sexually abusing her when she was a minor. Instead, it claims Kelly arranged to pay her a total of $350,000 to return two videotapes depicting him having sex with her and an underage girl identified only as Minor 1.
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A new victim, identified only as Minor 6, has been added to the list of victims in the case. According to the indictment, Kelly met Minor 6 in 1997 or 1998, when she was 14 or 15 years old.
The new indictment does not specify when Kelly is accused of sexually abusing Minor 6, but says she was under age 18 at the time.
So, while five victims remain in the case, it's not the same five victims originally listed.
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Minor 1 is the same girl who was at the center of a child pornography case filed against Kelly in 2002. He was acquitted in that case in 2008.
With a new indictment in the case, Kelly will have to appear for a new arraignment at some point, but no such hearing has yet been scheduled. However, he is due back in federal court on March 5 for a status hearing on the original indictment.
The feds said Kelly coerced Minor 1 and her parents to lie to police and a Cook County grand jury about Kelly's sex crimes.
Kelly's former manager, Derrel McDavid, is charged alongside Kelly in the case, accused of conspiring to cover up videotapes Kelly made of himself sexually abusing children. Federal prosecutors say McDavid instructed the Minor 1' father to deny she was the girl on the video, and Kelly persuaded the girl to falsely deny that he'd abused her, and to falsely deny that it was her on the tape.
The feds also accuse Kelly of making payments and buying gifts for Minor 1 and her parents from 2000 to 2015 to keep them quiet about the videos.
Kelly and McDavid also are accused of paying off others so they wouldn't cooperate with the investigation, and would help cover up evidence, including the videos.
Another Kelly employee, Milton "June" Brown, faces child pornography charges; accused of helping ship videotapes of Kelly's sexual crimes in the U.S. mail.
Kelly is facing separate charges in a federal indictment in New York, another indictment in Cook County, and another case in Minnesota.
The federal charges in New York accuse Kelly of using his fame to recruit young women and girls for illegal sexual activity. The racketeering case also accuses him of kidnapping, sexual exploitation of a child and forced labor. In December, federal prosecutors added bribery charges against Kelly, connected to his 1994 marriage to the late singer Aaliyah, who was only 15 at the time.
Prosecutors accused Kelly of scheming with others to pay for a "fraudulent identification" for her. The marriage was annulled months later because of Aaliyah's age.
Kelly's attorney Steve Greenberg said in a tweet "we are aware of the superseding indictment. We continue to fight for him and look forward to the day he is free. #notguilty #rkelly."
In Cook County, local prosecutors have accused Kelly of sexually assaulting and abusing four victims years ago. Three of the accusers were underage at the time.
In Minnesota, state prosecutors have charged Kelly with engaging in prostitution with an underage girl.
Kelly's federal trial in Chicago has been scheduled for April, his federal trial in New York is scheduled for July, and his trial in Cook County court is scheduled for September. No trial date has yet been set in Minnesota.
Kelly and his co-defendants have pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.
