R. Kelly might soon be indicted in Illinois, based on a video showing the singer sexually assaulting an underage girl, according to The New Yorker. In a report from Jim DeRogatis, a senior law-enforcement official and two other sources said the video shows Kelly. After being contacted by The New Yorker, attorney Michael Avenatti tweeted a statement saying that he has given Cook County state’s attorney Kim Foxx a 45-minute tape showing “Kelly engaging in multiple sexual assaults of a girl underage.â€
In 2002, Kelly was indicted on 21 counts of child pornography related to a separate 26-minute tape, which appeared to show Kelly sexually assaulting a 14-year-old-girl. He was acquitted in 2008. Since the early 1990s, Kelly has been accused of sexual abuse and predatory behavior. In 2017, BuzzFeed ran a report from DeRogatis with allegations that the singer was running an abusive sex cult in Atlanta and Chicago. The Lifetime special Surviving R. Kelly renewed criticism of the star, and he is currently being investigated in Atlanta and Chicago, with another accuser reportedly meeting with officials in New York City.
Kelly’s attorney Steve Greenberg told CNN that he didn’t know about the new tape. “We are unaware of any new information involving Mr. Kelly,†he said. “We have not been contacted by anyone. We have not been informed about any new information by anyone and we have not been contacted by law enforcement.†In February, Greenberg told the Associated Press that his client “never knowingly had sex with an underage woman, he never forced anyone to do anything, he never held anyone captive, he never abused anyone.â€