After several weeks of renewed interest in R. Kelly‘s alleged pattern of sexual abuse against women and girls — thanks in part to producer Dream Hampton’s Surviving R. Kelly documentary, which aired on Lifetime in early January — the R&B singer has been charged with 10 counts of criminal sexual abuse, multiple outlets are reporting. The charges reportedly span from 1998 to 2010.
High-profile attorney Michael Avenatti — who also represented Stormy Daniels in her legal battle against President Trump — said he submitted a tape purporting to show Kelly engaged in sex acts with an underage girl to authorities last week. CNN reports to have seen the tape; according to the outlet, the tape features the unnamed girl “[referring] to her body parts as 14 years old.”
The New York Times reports that last week, two more women came forward to accuse the singer of sexual abuse and misconduct when they were underage. Kelly’s attorney Steven Greenberg has said that his client “denies that he has engaged in any illegal conduct, of any kind whatsoever.”
Kelly was acquitted of child pornography charges in 2008. BuzzFeed reporting from 2017 also alleged that the singer was keeping women against their will in the Chicago and Atlanta areas.
In the aftermath of Lifetime’s Surviving R. Kelly documentary, multiple artists spoke out against the singer and past collaborators distanced themselves for their work together. Among them was Lady Gaga, who apologized for their 2013 team-up, “Do What U Want,” and pledged support for his accusers. Chance the Rapper likewise apologized for working with R. Kelly on “Somewhere In Paradise.” Their collaborative songs with Kelly were removed from some streaming platforms.
This is a developing story. We’ll update as more information becomes available.
from Update Trend News https://ift.tt/2XsiDQe
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