R&B singer R. Kelly has been charged with additional, more serious criminal counts involving one of the four victims whom prosecutors contend he sexually abused years ago, according to court records and Kelly’s attorney.
The charges include four counts of aggravated criminal sex assault, three counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a victim between the ages of 13 and 16, two counts of criminal sex assault by force and two counts of aggravated criminal sex abuse, according to court records.
R. Kelly “was NOT charged with a new case. He was recharged in an existing case, same alleged victim and time (a decade ago) It changes nothing,” the performer’s attorney, Steve Greenberg, wrote on Twitter.
“These are the same conduct, just charged differently, same alleged victim, same time frame, same facts. We expect the same results,” he wrote.
Kelly has denied abuse allegations for decades. In 2008, the singer was charged on child pornography but was not found guilty.
Kelly, 52, pleaded not guilty in February to charges that he sexually assaulted three teenage girls and a fourth woman. The charges were brought after seven women including his ex-wife, appeared on a Lifetime television documentary and accused him of emotional and sexual abuse.
He spent a weekend in jail on the sex charges before being released on $100,000 bail on Feb. 25.
If Kelly is convicted, the new charges carry a sentence of 30 years, the Sun Times reported.
