R. Kelly Sexual Assault Cases in Illinois Dropped as He Faces Possibility of 'Never Walking out of Prison Again'

After R. Kelly's federal convictions in New York and Chicago, Illinois prosecutor Kim Foxx said on Monday that her office is dismissing the pending sexual assault and abuse cases in Cook County against the disgraced singer.

According to Rolling Stone, Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in New York and will likely receive additional decades during his sentencing in Chicago next month.

Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx announced this ahead of a Tuesday court hearing on state charges. A grand jury in Cook County, Illinois, handed Kelly four indictments in February 2019.

He is facing 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in connection with four alleged victims, three of whom were minors at the time of alleged incidents that happened between 1998 and 2010.

Federal prosecutors in New York and Chicago also indicted Kelly in 2019. After being found guilty of child exploitation, racketeering, bribery, and sex trafficking in New York in 2021, he was given a 30-year jail sentence, which he is presently serving while appealing the verdict.

Kelly was also found guilty on three charges of child pornography and three counts of enticement of a child by a federal jury in Chicago last September. His sentencing is expected on February 23.

The primary video in the federal case in Chicago was also involved in the 2008 child pornography trial, where the disgraced singer was acquitted.

R. Kelly Sexual Assault Cases

Accusations against R. Kelly go back to 1998. According to CBS News, Illinois has no limitations statute on child sex abuse charges.

Nine counts against R. Kelly mentioned that the victim was under 16 years old, but one did not provide the age. In one case, Kelly allegedly forced sexual contact on the victim through force or the threat of force.

CBS News reported that the only information provided about the victims in the charges is their initials and the dates of the alleged abuse:

• H.W. (13-16 years of age), a victim of four counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse between May 26, 1998, and May 25, 1999;
• J.P. (13-16 years of age), a victim of three counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse between May 1, 2009, and January 31, 2010;
• R.L. (13-16 years of age), a victim of two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse between September 26, 1998, and September 25, 2001;
• L.C. (no age given), a victim of one count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse on February 18, 2003.

Kelly, 56, will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars. Aside from the 30-year prison sentence in New York, Kim Foxx said the singer also faces an additional 10 to 90 years in jail after being found guilty of child pornography and enticing minors to engage in sex in federal court in Chicago.

Illinois Prosecutor Dropped R. Kelly Sexual Assault Cases

In announcing the dismissal of charges against R. Kelly, Kim Foxx assured the media that "justice had been served."

Foxx said Kelly "is potentially looking at the possibility of never walking out of prison again for the crimes he has committed."

Thus, Foxx noted that the Cook County State's Attorney's Office will not continue to expend its "limited resources and court time with the indictments" that they previously charged Kelly.

Foxx said the funds needed to be allocated to similar charges in the state, according to NME. She stressed that their office believed the Cook County victims and commended their "bravery and their relentless pursuit of justice".

However, Foxx noted that a significant number of cases and survivors were also "equally in need of the resources that have been expended on Mr. Kelly's cases."

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

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