Homeland Security Investigations is involved in an investigation of R. Kelly, an ICE official confirms to CNN.
The official did not provide any additional details.
The news of DHS’s involvement was first reported by the New Yorker.
Dream Hampton, the executive producer of Lifetime’s “Surviving R. Kelly” just released a statement about the charges against the singer.
R. Kelly has been charged with 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx announced earlier today.
Aggravated criminal sexual abuse is a class two felony with a sentencing range of three to seven years in prison per count.
That means Kelly, if convicted, could face a maximum of up to 70 years.
Though R. Kelly has faced allegations of sexual misconduct and assault for the past 20 years, he has yet to face serious consequences. Most previous cases were settled out of court, and he was acquitted in 2008 of the only case that went to trial.
“You know, I stand firmly in the belief that we’re only now hearing this because these were black girls, that he was not tried or successfully prosecuted in the past because these were young, black girls,” said Jamilah Lemieux, a former senior editor at Ebony magazine who was interviewed in the “Surviving R. Kelly” docuseries.
We don’t know much about the victims listed in the indictment. Three were under the age of 17 at the time of the alleged assaults, with the fourth victim’s age unspecified.
However, R. Kelly has been accused of preying on young, black girls in the past.
Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx outlined the 10 charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse against R. Kelly. She said the charges involve four victims.
Here’s how Foxx broke it down:
R. Kelly has been charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse involving four victims, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx announced.
Watch below:
A spokesperson from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office says a bond hearing will be held for R. Kelly in Chicago tomorrow between 12:30 p.m. and 1 p.m. CT.
Chicago Police tell CNN that a warrant has been issued for R. Kelly’s arrest.
In just moments, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx will announces charges against Kelly at a news conference.
The Chicago Sun-Times reports that a Cook County judge has approved a no-bail arrest warrant for singer R. Kelly.
The charges span from 1998 to 2010, the Sun-Times reports. The minors were between 13 and 16, prosecutors allege.
Tamara Simmons, the producer of Lifetime’s “Surviving R. Kelly” docuseries, said she had been “waiting for so long” when she found out today that R. Kelly had been indicted.
“She responded with no words at first. She took a deep breath and said, ‘I have been waiting for so long. I have lived with this and listening to these survivors’ stories, and I have been waiting for so long,’” CNN correspondent Sara Sidner said.
Lifetime, the channel that aired the docuseries, also put out a statement after the news of Kelly’s indictment broke.
“We are proud that Lifetime was able to provide a platform for survivors to be heard,” a Lifetime spokesperson said.
Sidner also spoke with one of the survivors who had allegedly been sexually assaulted by Kelly when she was a minor.
“All I want is for justice to be done, and this to never happen to someone else,” the survivor said, according to Sidner.
Accusations of abuse, manipulation and inappropriate encounters with girls and young women have been around – and vehemently denied – by R. Kelly for decades.
Here is a timeline of the allegations and trials:
The family of Joycelyn Savage, one of the women featured in Lifetime’s “Surviving R. Kelly,” said they are hopeful that the charges against R. Kelly will “will lead to justice.”
Savage family attorney Gerald Griggs just released this statement:
Later, Griggs released a longer statement on behalf of the family:
“More than two years ago when the Savage family first approached me about this case, I quickly recognized that multiple crimes were committed. I’ve repeatedly asked law enforcement to investigate this case and provided evidence directly linked to Robert Kelly. Today, a Grand Jury found the evidence we provided was sufficient for trial. We knew eventually that this day would come. We are hopeful now that with an indictment and the arrest of Mr. Kelly that Joycelyn Savage will soon be reunited with her family.”
Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx will announces charges against R. Kelly at 3 p.m. ET, according to a release from her office.
We’ll be covering the announcement live here.
CNN has seen the VHS tape that appears to show singer R. Kelly having sex with a girl who refers to her body parts as 14 years old. Attorney Michael Avenatti, who is representing a man he calls a whistleblower against Kelly, says he handed the tape to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in Chicago last weekend.
“It was very disturbing,” said CNN correspondent Sara Sidner.
The grand jury viewed the tape, and had been listening to several witnesses over the past few days. They just indicted Kelly, though the charges have not yet been released.
Last week, a grand jury convened in Cook County, Illinois, in connection with new allegations against singer R. Kelly.
Attorney Michael Avenatti announced last week that he had handed over to the State’s Attorney’s office a videotape that he says shows Kelly engaging in sex acts with an underage girl.
CNN has seen the VHS tape that appears to show Kelly having sex with a girl who refers to her body parts as 14 years old. Avenatti, who is representing a man he calls a whistleblower against Kelly, says he handed the tape to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in Chicago last weekend.
What is on the video mirrors some of the alleged acts for which Kelly was arrested for child pornography in 2002, when he was 35, and then acquitted six years later.
Kelly has been associated with claims of sexual misconduct with minors and other crimes for more than two decades. He has been sued by multiple women accusing him of having sex with them when they were underage. He has denied the accusations and all cases, with the exception of the trial where he was acquitted, have been settled out of court.
An indictment has been handed down against musician R. Kelly by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office, two sources with knowledge of the development tell CNN.
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