CNN
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Illinois prosecutors
Prosecutors in Cook County, Illinois have dropped sex crimes charges against singer R. Kelly, who has previously been convicted of federal charges designed to keep him in prison for decades.
The Illinois charges — aggravated felony sexual assault and aggravated felony sexual abuse counts involving four accusers — are being dropped in part because of jail time he already faces for his federal convictions, the Illinois prosecutor said Monday. Cook County State, Kim Foxx.
CNN has reached out to Kelly’s attorney for comment.
After Foxx’s office filed charges in 2019, Kelly was charged in federal courts in New York and Chicago, her office noted.
In his federal case in New York, the disgraced R&B singer was sentenced to 30 years in prison after being convicted in 2021 of federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges.
In federal court in Chicago, Kelly was convicted of multiple child pornography charges and acquitted others in 2022, after a trial that included anonymous testimony from a woman who said Kelly sexually assaulted her and recorded the interactions when she was just 14 years old.
Although no sentence was announced at this latest trial, Kelly faces at least 10 to 90 years in prison for this conviction, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office said.
“I understand how difficult it has been for these victims to come forward and tell their story. I applaud their courage and have the utmost respect for all who have come forward,” Foxx said in a press release.
“While this may not be the outcome they expected, given the sentences Mr. Kelly faces, we believe justice has been served,” Foxx added.
Cook County prosecutors had called for victims to come forward after the airing of “Surviving R. Kelly,” a lifetime documentary series that chronicled allegations of abuse, predatory behavior and child molestation against the singer.
The office set up a hotline and interviewed hundreds of witnesses in Chicago, Atlanta and New York, according to the press release.
“My office will direct our resources to find justice for other victims of sexual abuse who lack the power of a documentary to shine a light on their abusers,” Foxx added.
