R. Kelly Turns Himself In

R&B star is now in police custody in Chicago
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 23, 2019 6:30 AM CST
R. Kelly Turns Himself In
In this photo from Friday, R&B singer R. Kelly is photographed during booking at a police station in Chicago.   (Chicago Police Department via AP)

He was acquitted over a decade ago on child pornography accusations. Now, R. Kelly is about to face the music on a whole new set of charges, and he turned himself in Friday to begin that process. The Chicago Sun-Times reports the 52-year-old R&B star, real name Robert Kelly, showed up Friday in a black van at a police station in Chicago's Near South Side just after 8pm, with a clip on Twitter showing what appears to be Kelly inside the station in a blue jacket, being led away in handcuffs. In a Friday indictment, Kelly was slammed with 10 felony counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, with four women said to have been his victims between 1998 and 2010, per CNN.

Three of the victims were minors between the ages of 13 and 16, according to prosecutors. A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement official also tells CNN that new allegations against Kelly have dragged Homeland Security Investigations into the picture, though the official didn't elaborate. Interviewed outside the police station after R. Kelly's surrender, defense attorney Steve Greenberg proclaimed his client's innocence. When asked by a reporter if he thought Kelly's accusers were lying, Greenberg replied, "I think all the women are lying, yes. This has become, 'Hey ... I can say R. Kelly did something, boom.'" Kelly is set to appear in court for a bail hearing on Saturday; an arraignment is set for March 8. (Two more women who say they were among Kelly's victims have come forward.)

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