R. Kelly has been arrested in Chicago on sex trafficking charges and child pornography

July 12, 2019
| Report Focus News

R Kelly has been arrested on sex trafficking and child pornography charges, according to American law officials.

The 52-year old was arrested in Chicago on Thursday night on 13 federal sex crime charges, and was expected to be taken to New York, according to officials.

Back in February, Kelly was charged with aggravated sexual abuse involving four women, three of whom were minors when the alleged abuse occurred. He pleaded not guilty and was released from Chicago’s Cook County Jail after posting bail.

A jury in 2008 acquitted Kelly of child pornography charges stemming from a video showing him having sex with a girl as young as 13, prosecutors claimed at the time. Kelly faced 15 years in prison for that charge, but the young woman in that claim denied it was her and did not testify.

In June, he pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of sexual assault and abuse, all said to have taken place against a victim between the ages of 13 and 16 from May 2009 to January 2010.

Kelly, who has consistently denied any wrongdoing, was subsequently dropped by his longtime label, Sony Music, and several former collaborators disavowed him

R Kelly could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted on those charges.