Illinois prosecutors drop further criminal cases against R. Kelly
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Illinois prosecutors drop further criminal cases against R. Kelly

Prosecutors in Cook County, Illinois, have dropped a number of sex-crime charges against R. Kelly, who had already been convicted of charges which will see him imprisoned for several decades. Amongst the charges were aggravated criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

However, the Cook County State Attorney, Kim Foxx, says that those latter charges are being dropped because Kelly is already facing sentences against charges on a federal level. Foxx had filed the charges back in 2019, after which Kelly was charged in federal court in New York and Chicago.

Kelly was charged and convicted on a federal level for possessing child pornography and being part of a racketing and sex trafficking organisation. The former charge will see Kelly face a minimum of ten years in prison and a maximum of 90, while the latter charge saw him sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Foxx said in a press release: “I understand how hard it was for these victims to come forward and tell their stories. I applaud their courage and have the utmost respect for everyone who came forward. While this may not be the result they were expecting, due to the sentences that Mr. Kelly is facing, we do feel that justice has been served. My office will direct our resources to find justice for other victims of sexual abuse who do not have the power of a documentary to bring their abusers to light.” 

The prosecutors of Cook County, Illinois, made a call for Kelly’s victims to come forward when the documentary Surviving R. Kelly aired on television, detailing his abuse, behaviour and actions. The County office set up a hotline for Kelly’s victims, and several witnesses came forward and were interviewed. It was in September last year that Kelly was finally sentenced, and his victims began to feel that some kind of justice had been dealt.