R. Kelly Charged With 11 New Counts Of Sexual Assault And Abuse

Musician R. Kelly, center, arrives at the Leighton Criminal Court building for a hearing Tuesday, May 7, 2019, in Chicago.
Musician R. Kelly, center, arrives at the Leighton Criminal Court building for a hearing Tuesday, May 7, 2019, in Chicago. AP Photo/Matt Marton
Musician R. Kelly, center, arrives at the Leighton Criminal Court building for a hearing Tuesday, May 7, 2019, in Chicago.
Musician R. Kelly, center, arrives at the Leighton Criminal Court building for a hearing Tuesday, May 7, 2019, in Chicago. AP Photo/Matt Marton

R. Kelly Charged With 11 New Counts Of Sexual Assault And Abuse

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Updated at 4:00 p.m.

Cook County prosecutors on Thursday charged Chicago singer R. Kelly with 11 new counts of sexual assault and abuse, on top of the 10 counts he is already facing.

The new charges include four Class X felonies for aggravated criminal sexual assault, and three new charges of sexual abuse of a child between the ages of 13 and 16.

All of the new charges appear to stem from Kelly’s alleged assault of a single teenager who is one of the alleged victims in Kelly’s other pending case. Charging documents from both cases refer to an alleged victim with the initials J.P.

The new charges allege that Kelly forced penetration between himself and the teenage girl, using violence or threats, and that he endangered her life.

Kelly was previously charged with 10 counts of sexual abuse of four women, including three victims who were minors at the time of the alleged abuse.

Kelly is out on bail awaiting trial on those charges. He is due in court next week for the new case against him.

The new charges of aggravated sexual assault mark the most serious charges against Kelly so far in the current criminal case against him. The Class X felonies carry up to 30 years in prison each.

Kelly’s attorney Steve Greenberg said the charges “are not really new.”

“They are the same conduct, just charged differently,” Greenberg said in a text. “Same alleged victim, same time frame, same facts.”

He said they still expect Kelly to be found innocent of all charges.

A spokeswoman for the Cook County state’s attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Kelly has previously been accused of sexual abuse, particularly of teenage girls.

In 2008, a jury acquitted Kelly of child pornography charges that arose from a graphic video that prosecutors said showed him having sex with a girl as young as 13.

Patrick Smith is a reporter on WBEZ’s Criminal Justice desk. Follow him @pksmid.