R. Kelly Is Indicted on 10 Counts of Sexual Abuse in Chicago

After speculation, R. Kelly has been indicted on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in Cook County. According to NBC, court records show that the charges specify victims were between 13 and 16 years old. The criminal indictment marks a historic development in what has become a saga of justice for Kelly’s alleged victims. Kelly’s first court appearance is reportedly scheduled for March 8.

The pressure around Kelly’s criminal culpability for long-rumored sexual abuse of largely underage victims has been building. Kelly was recently dropped by Sony, his label, and was the subject of a devastating documentary on Lifetime called Surviving R. Kelly. Before that, activists, led mostly by women of color, were calling for the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements to address the Kelly allegations via the #MuteRKelly campaign. Kelly was acquitted on charges of child pornography after a trial in 2008.

Michael Avenatti, who last month quietly tweeted that he had been “working on the R. Kelly matter,” tweeted today that “after 25 years of serial sexual abuse and assault of underage girls, the day of reckoning for R. Kelly has arrived,” no doubt referring to the indictment.

On February 14, Avenatti revealed that he was representing “multiple clients in connection with allegations of sexual assault of minors” by Kelly, who were in possession of a 45-minute “VHS videotape of Mr. Kelly engaging in multiple sexual assaults of a girl underage," evidence that was both not “previously seen and used in connection with the prior criminal matter” and within the Illinois statute of limitations. Avenatti said he had provided the evidence to Cook County state’s attorney Kim Foxx. Reporter Jim DeRogatis, who has long covered the Kelly allegations, wrote in The New Yorker that a source had told him Kelly could be arrested soon.

At the time, Kelly’s attorney, Steve Greenberg, said that he was "unaware of any new information involving Mr. Kelly. We have not been contacted by anyone. We have not been informed about any new information by anyone, and we have not been contacted by law enforcement.” Kelly has continued to deny charges of abuse.