R. Kellyhas turned himself in to the Chicago police.
“The defendant will appear in court tomorrow afternoon,” Guglielmi added.
Kelly’s attorney Steven Greenberg did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
R. Kelly.Scott Olson/Getty
The alleged incidents all occurred between May 1998 and January 2010.
Aggravated criminal sexual abuse is a Class 2 felony with a sentencing range of 3-7 years per change, and is probationable.
According to the Associated Press, ano-bail arrest warranthas been issued for Kelly. “We anticipate [Kelly] will appear in bond court tomorrow [Saturday] afternoon,” Foxx said at the conclusion of the press conference.
Both Kelly’s attorney, Steven Greenberg, and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office did not immediately reply to PEOPLE’s request for comment. Kelly, however, hasrepeatedly denied all accusations of sexual abuseor misconduct made against him.
“After 25 years of serial sexual abuse and assault of underage girls,the day of reckoning for R Kelly has arrived,” he added.
Avenatti previously told CNNthat Cook County prosecutors investigating the allegations facing the embattled singer were given the previously unknown, 45-minute-long tape earlier this month on behalf of his client, a “whistleblower” who previously worked with the star.
The explicit video reportedly shows a man “who appears to be R. Kelly” and a girl having sex as they make mention of her “14-year-old” genitalia six different times, according to CNN.
The man also allegedly asks the girl to urinate on him, and she obliges.
R. Kelly.Marc Andrew Deley/FilmMagic
The actions reportedly featured in the tape echo that of a similar act featured in a sex tape allegedly showing Kelly and another underage girl that led to his 2002 arrest on child pornography charges. Six years later, a Cook County jury found Kelly not guilty on all 14 counts.
Kelly’s alleged behavior came to the media forefront again in July 2017, when BuzzFeed published a bombshell report accusing the star of running a “sex cult” out of his Chicago and Atlanta-area homes.
The star was reported to have seduced a slew of young women with the promise of helping them kickstart a music career, only to “groom” them into being his personal sex objects for whom he allegedly controlled every aspect of their lives.
Prince Williams/WireImage
Kelly has repeatedly denied all claims against him, though a renewed interest in the allegations emerged earlier this year with the release of the Lifetime documentary seriesSurviving R. Kelly.
“We are proud that Lifetime was able to provide a platform for survivors to be heard,” producers of the documentary told PEOPLE Friday in a statement.
If you suspect domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
source: people.com
