Listen, just in case any of you out there are still not ready to cancel R Kelly, it’s looking more and more like the American justice system will get something right for a change and do it for you.
According to the Chicago Tribune, the disgraced court jester of R&B (I refuse to call him king) has been hit with yet another new indictment for the crime of sexually abusing underage girls. The new federal charges in Chicago add allegations that he molested another minor for four years starting in 1997. In the superseding indictment made public Friday the new (or old actually) victim is identified only as “Minor 6.”
The new charges seek the forfeiture of all assets of Kelly’s production company, Bass Productions Ltd., as well as a company owned by his longtime business manager and co-defendant, Derrel McDavid.
The charges allege that Kelly met Minor 6 in 1997, when she was about 14 or 15 and that he abused her until about December 2000. Kelly was originally charged in a 13-count federal indictment last July for conspiring with two former employees to pay off witnesses and victims to change their testimonies in his 2008 child pornography trial in Cook County. The charges include allegations that McDavid and Milton “June” Brown, another former employee of Kelly’s, paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to recover child sex tapes before prosecutors got to them.
Minor 6 appears to replace another victim in the earlier indictment, an underage girl previously identified as Minor 2.
From Chicago Tribune:
While Minor 2 is no longer listed as a victim in the new charges, the superseding indictment identifies the same person as Individual D - indicating that she may still be cooperating with authorities.
Kelly allegedly paid Individual D hundreds of thousands of dollars to return videotapes that showed Kelly having sexual contact with her and another underage girl.
These new allegations are only the latest in a string of recent charges Kelly faces in four jurisdictions related to his affinity for the sexual violation of young girls which has spanned decades.
It’s hard to imagine anyone actually believing in Kelly’s innocence but, unfortunately, he still has his loyal fans who maintain that justice looks like him being absolved of all wrongdoing and set free. His attorney, Steve Greenberg leads the charge on that front tweeting “We continue to fight for him and look forward to the day he is free.”
Sure, Steve.
According to the Tribune, U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber had set Kelly’s trial date for April 27 but it’s likely that will be delayed given the new indictment announced Friday.
Kelly could be arraigned on the new charges at his next scheduled hearing in the case on March 5.
Hopefully, we’ll be saying “good riddance” to the Pied Piper Predator very soon.