Chicago prosecutor to drop intercourse abuses prices towards R. Kelly
A prosecutor in Chicago is dropping intercourse abuse prices towards disgraced R&B star R. Kelly, whose convictions in federal courtroom instances in 2021 and 2022 have all however ensured he’ll be behind bars for many years to return.
Prepare dinner County State’s Lawyer Kim Foxx announced the news Monday, a day earlier than a courtroom listening to about state prices accusing him of sexually abusing 4 individuals, three of whom have been underage. Foxx mentioned she would ask the decide on the listening to to dismiss the fees.
“I perceive how onerous it was for these victims to return ahead and inform their tales,” Foxx mentioned in an announcement. “I applaud their braveness and have the utmost respect for everybody who got here ahead. Whereas this is probably not the end result they have been anticipating, because of the sentences that Mr. Kelly is going through, we do really feel that justice has been served.”
She added, “My workplace will direct our sources to seek out justice for different victims of sexual abuse who wouldn’t have the ability of a documentary to deliver their abusers to gentle.”
E. Jason Wambsgans-Pool/Getty Pictures R. Kelly in courtroom in 2019
Kelly, born Robert Sylvester Kelly, is at the moment serving a 30-year prison sentence after being convicted of racketeering and sex trafficking in New York in September 2021. He’s additionally set to be sentenced subsequent month in Chicago federal courtroom after being found guilty on child pornography and child enticement charges this previous September. Kelly, 56, faces 10 to 90 years in jail within the latter case.
Allegations of sexual misconduct have lengthy shadowed Kelly, however it wasn’t till the rise of the #MeToo motion and the discharge of the Lifetime docuseries Surviving R. Kelly that public stress actually started to mount for authorities to take motion. The Prepare dinner County indictment was introduced in 2019, earlier than the federal instances in New York and Chicago.
An lawyer for Kelly didn’t instantly reply to EW’s request for remark Monday.
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