R. Kelly Arrested Again On Federal Sex Crime Charges
R&B singer R. Kelly has been arrested again on federal sex crime charges.
The troubled singer was arrested in Chicago on Thursday night, reports News 4.
The arrest comes five months after Kelly was released on bail for additional sexual abuse charges in Illinois.
The “I Believe I Can Fly Singer,” 52, was walking his dog when he was arrested by Homeland Security Investigation agents and NYPD Public Safety Task Force.
It’s expected that the singer and songwriter will be brought to New York.
On Thursday, Kelly received a 13-count indictment in federal court for the Northern District of Illinois, which includes charges of child pornography, enticement of a minor, and obstruction of justice, U.S. attorney spokesman Joseph Fitzpatrick told The Associated Press.
According to a senior law enforcement official, separate federal indictments were filed in both Chicago and Brooklyn. A court appearance in Chicago could also come later on Friday.
On Friday, further details regarding the case are expected to be announced for the Eastern District of New York in federal court.
Homeland Security Investigations and NYPD spokespeople declined to comment on the R&B crooner being arrested.
Calls were made to the U.S. attorney in Brooklyn, but they weren’t immediately returned.
Darrell Johnson, the Chicago native’s crisis manager said that Kelly’s legal team expected the indictment to happen but he doesn’t know what the charges are yet.
According to Johnson, Kelly whose given name is Robert Sylvester Kelly was in good spirits while he awaits his trial.
“Mr. Kelly has declared his innocence from day one,” said Johnson, who says he has been working with the singer and songwriter for six months. “I’ve seen nothing, and I do mean nothing, that would lead to any type of guilt.”
The singer’s ex-wife, Drea Kelly, had no comment regarding Kelly’s arrest, according to her rep.
For nearly two decades, R. Kelly has been accused of sexual abuse. Some of the alleged acts date back to 1998.
The “Down Low (Nobody Has to Know)” singer was charged with aggravated sexual abuse, back in February, involving four women, three of whom were minors when the alleged abuse took place.
Kelly pleaded not guilty and the singer was released from Chicago’s Cook County Jail after he posted bail.
In 2008, a jury acquitted R. Kelly of child pornography charges stemming from video footage that showed the singer having sex with a girl as young as 13, according to prosecutors at the time.
For that charge, the singer faced 15 years in prison, but the young woman, in that case, denied that it was her and didn’t testify.
