Singer R. Kelly, who faces multiple sex abuse accusations, is asking a judge in Cook County, Illinois permission to perform overseas in Dubai. Court is set to begin 10:45 a.m ET/9:45 a.m. CT. The defense is also looking to receive discovery materials from the prosecution.
Kelly is charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in connection to the alleged assaults of three underage girls and one adult woman. Prosecutors said in a bond proffer that DNA evidence supports two cases, while footage exists to prove a third. This third case involves the alleged abuse of a girl identified as R.L. These incidents happened between September 26, 1998 and September 25, 2001, prosecutors said. Authorities claimed her aunt identified her as being in the footage.
Kelly and his representatives have denied the criminal allegations against him.
“He’s a rock star,” attorney Steven Greenberg said after the defendant’s bond hearing in February. “He doesn’t have to have non-consensual sex.”
“He’s a rock star. He doesn’t have to have non-consensual sex,” said R. Kelly’s lawyer Steve Greenberg in a press conference after judge sets Kelly’s bail at $1 million. https://t.co/8yZJr9ewUM pic.twitter.com/wJA3B3rjec
— CBS Chicago (@cbschicago) February 23, 2019
Claims of sexual misconduct have trailed Kelly for years. Vibe reported on a marriage license featuring the names of Kelly and the teenage singer Aaliyah. The document listed the songstress’ age as 18. She was actually 15 at the time the license was dated on August 31, 1994.
Kelly was indicted in 2002 after video allegedly showed him sexually abusing an underage girl, but he was acquitted in 2008. Family members of the alleged victim were split over whether it was her. Four said yes. Three said no.
A recent docuseries, Surviving R. Kelly, profiled women who said that Kelly was an abusive lover.
Update – Sept. 28, 2020: A link to The Chicago Sun-Times expired. It concerned the marriage license of Kelly and Aaliyah. We replaced the information from that article with links to Vibe and GQ.
[Image via Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images]
