R. Kelly Pleaded Not Guilty To 11 More Sex Abuse Charges Involving A Minor

The new charges were filed by a grand jury and involve a woman who was under the age of 18 at the time of the alleged abuse.

R. Kelly pleaded not guilty Thursday to 11 additional counts of sexual assault and abuse that involve an alleged victim who was a minor at the time.

The new charges are related to one of four alleged victims in a case that Kelly has already been indicted in, according to his attorney, Steve Greenberg.

Kelly was arrested and charged in February with 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse involving four women — three of whom were underage during the alleged acts.

When he was indicted again in May, Greenberg told BuzzFeed News that the charges “are not really new — they are the same conduct, just charged differently, same alleged victim, same time frame, same facts.”

The 11 charges Kelly pleaded not guilty to Thursday include four counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, two counts of criminal sexual assault, and five counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, according to court documents.

The indictment accuses Kelly of ejaculating onto the victim’s body and committing acts of sexual penetration by the use or threat of force. In some cases, Kelly committed battery in the course of the crimes, the documents said.

Speaking outside court, Greenberg reiterated that the second indictment involved the same alleged victim, “it’s just that they’ve just changed what they’ve charged him with.”

In May, Greenberg said the charges involve the alleged victim identified in both indictments as J.P.

In 2017, J.P. told BuzzFeed News about how she began a sexual relationship with Kelly at the age of 16 after the singer was acquitted on child pornography charges in 2008.

Three of the 10 counts filed against Kelly in February involved J.P. for incidents that occurred between 2009 and 2010, according to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.

The R&B singer has been the subject of sexual misconduct allegations dating back to the 1990s; the Lifetime docuseries Surviving R. Kelly, which aired earlier this year, details these accounts.

He also recently served two stints in jail, first for failing to post $100,000 bond on sexual abuse charges, and then for failing to pay his ex-wife $161,663 in child support.

Kelly, who has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, left the courthouse Thursday without speaking to reporters. However, the Associated Press reported that his spokesperson, Darrell Johnson, said the Grammy award–winning singer is “upbeat.”

“Initially, he was a little depressed,” Johnson added. “But I mean, with anything, if someone accuses you of something, you’ll be depressed. He knows the truth.”

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