R. Kelly Arrested on Federal Child Pornography Charges

Singer R. Kelly was arrested by federal agents Thursday night on a 13-count indictment that includes child pornography charges, The New York Times reports.

Kelly, who is already under indictment on state charges of aggravated sexual assault and abuse, was charged with child pornography, endangerment of a minor, and obstruction of justice in the Northern District of Illinois.

Federal prosecutors in New York are expected to announce a separate indictment against the singer Friday, that will contain additional federal charges.

Kelly is scheduled to be arraigned in Chicago on Friday but is eventually expected to be extradited to New York.

Kelly faces more than a dozen state charges in Illinois, where is is accused of sexually abusing four women, three of whom were underage at the time.

Police said Kelly was arrested while walking his dog Thursday night.

Kelly lawyer says Kelly is the real victim:

Kelly’s lawyer, Steve Greenberg, said in a statement that the charges “were not a surprise.”

Greenberg said that most of the charges stemmed from old allegations, some of which were included in previous indictments.

Greenberg said Kelly and his team “look forward to his day in court, to the truth coming out and to his vindication from what has been an unprecedented assault by others for their own personal gain.”

Kelly has extensive history with underage girls:

Kelly has been under scrutiny since the 1990s, when he married singer Aaliyah in 1994 when she was just 15 years old.

He was later charged with child pornography after he was in a video tape in which he urinated on an underage girl but he was acquitted after the girl declined to testify.

Kelly was arrested shortly after the airing of the Lifetime documentary series “Surviving R. Kelly,” which detailed accounts from his alleged victims. The documentary sparked investigations in Illinois, Atlanta, and apparently within the Justice Department.

 

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