R. Kelly Hit With New Indictment On Sexual Abuse Of A Minor Charges

R. Kelly is looking at a new indictment on charges of abusing a minor.

The Chicago native is connected to sexual assault cases in three different states, according to USA Today. The new indictment was made public on Friday and alleges the singer sexually abused an underage girl for four years starting in 1997. In the 26-page indictment, authorities included multiple counts of child pornography similar to Kelly’s July 2019 indictment.

The filing no longer includes “Minor 2” and refers to the new accuser as “Minor 6” which would mean that there are still a total of five alleged victims in the federal case for the Northern District of Illinois, USA Today reports. There are no details on why “Minor 2” is no longer included on the prosecutor’s list of alleged victims. The new filing consists of details including how the alleged victim met Kelly around 1997 or 1998; at the time she was 14 or 15. The document accuses Kelly of being sexually active with the now-woman when she was under 18.

Kelly’s lawyers, Michael Leonard of Chicago, told USA Today that “it appears that the government continues to struggle with its underlying factual theory.” He added, “The amended indictment changes time periods, as well as alleged victims, as well as entities. Moreover, the government can only promise to let us know who the new victim is in the coming weeks.” Kelly’s lead lawyer, Steve Greenberg tweeted in acknowledgment of the new indictment. “We are aware of the superseding indictment. We continue to fight for him and look forward to the day he is free #notguilty #rkelly,” the tweet read.

Kelly is set to be arraigned with the updated indictment, which may take place on March 5. Kelly’s trial date will still be April 27. Kelly still maintains that he is innocent of any of the more than a dozen sex-crime charges filed against him. He currently has two federal court cases in Illinois and New York and two state court cases in Illinois and Minnesota. According to USA Today, Kelly is scheduled to appear for this federal case in Chicago in April, while the federal case in New York is scheduled in July. The state case in Chicago scheduled for September. Kelly denies all accusations.