R. Kelly Faces 11 New Felony Counts Of Sexual Abuse

UPDATED, 1:39 PM: Federal prosecutors in Chicago have filed a new case against singer R. Kelly, this time charging him with 11 felony counts of sexual assault that carry a maximum of 30 years in prison.

The new charges include four counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, three counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse against a victim between the ages of 13 to 16 and two counts each of criminal sexual assault by force and aggravated criminal sexual abuse. Kelly, who is free on bond in the earlier case, will be in court June 6 to answer the 11 new counts.

The “I Believe I Can Fly” singer’s February indictment comprises lower-level felonies that carry a maximum jail term of up to seven years. Read details of that case below.

After those initial charges were filed, Kelly did a wild and wideiy viewed interview with CBS’ Gayle King, in which he screamed, got up and gesticulated, ranted into the camera and generally misbehaved. He also pleaded double jeopardy after being indicted years before, telling King, “When you beat your case, you beat your case.”

PREVIOUSLY, February 25: R. Kelly appeared in a Chicago courtroom Monday morning after a weekend in jail and pleaded not guilty to 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse against four alleged victims, three of whom prosecutors say were underage at the time.

The Grammy-winning R&B singer was arrested Friday. Today’s arraignment hearing comes after a Cook County judge Saturday set Kelly’s bond at $1 million; Kelly spent Saturday and Sunday in jail after not being able to pay the $100,000 bail required for his release, and he appeared today in an orange jumpsuit.

The Associated Press reported Monday that Kelly’s lawyer Steve Greenberg said the team is working on securing bail and he expects his client to be released today or Tuesday. Greenberg told reporters Saturday that the four alleged victims were lying, and said Monday that he expects his client to be vindicated.

The next court date for Kelly was set for March 22 in the case. The 10 charges are all Class 2 felonies in Illinois, including a probational offense that carries a potential sentence of three to seven years. Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx has said the alleged crimes spanned more than two decades, dating back to 1998.

The latest spotlight on Kelly comes after Lifetime earlier this year aired its documentary series Surviving R. Kelly, which featured alleged victims coming forward to detail the singer’s abusive past. After that, Stormy Daniels’ lawyer Michael Avenatti came forward with a video allegedly showing Kelly involved in sex acts with a 14-year-old girl.

The news comes as attorney Gloria Allred has scheduled a press conference for later today in New York with two new R. Kelly accusers.