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COOK COUNTY, Ill. – Singer R. Kelly was charged Friday with 10 counts of felony criminal sexual abuse involving four minors, according to the Cook County Prosecutor’s Office. The allegations span two decades.
The victims are between 13 and 16 years old, according to prosecutors.
Friday’s charges come after years of allegations directed at Kelly accusing the now-52-year-old of sexual misconduct involving women and underage girls. Through his lawyers, he has consistently denied them.
Kelly, whose legal name is Robert Kelly, is one of the top-selling recording artists of all time. He has won multiple Grammys, including for his hit song, “I Believe I Can Fly.”
Stay with WSBTV.com and watch Channel 2 Action News starting at 4 p.m. for updates on this developing story.
Jurors acquitted Kelly of child pornography charges at a 2008 trial. Those charges stemmed from a video prosecutors alleged showed Kelly having sex with a girl as young as 13.
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Attorney Michael Avenatti said last week that he recently gave Chicago prosecutors new video evidence of Kelly having sex with an underage girl.
On Friday, Avenatti seemed to announce the charges against Kelly with a two-word tweet: “It’s over.”
“After 25 years of serial sexual abuse and assault of underage girls, the day of reckoning for R. Kelly has arrived,” he wrote in a subsequent tweet.
After 25 years of serial sexual abuse and assault of underage girls, the day of reckoning for R Kelly has arrived.
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) February 22, 2019
A Chicago judge has authorized a no-bail arrest warrant for Kelly.
Aggravated criminal sexual abuse is a class 2 felony with a sentencing range of three to seven years per count. It is also probationable, according to Kim Foxx, the state’s attorney for Cook County.
Foxx held a news conference Friday afternoon and said she expects Kelly to appear in bond court Saturday afternoon.
ABC News, The Associated Press and the Cox Media Group National Content Desk contributed to this report.
© 2019 Cox Media Group.
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