After decades of allegedly terrorizing women and underage girls, itâs looking like the self-proclaimed Pied Piper of R&B will finally pay the piper.
CNN reports that a grand jury has been convened in Cook County, Ill., in connection with new allegations leveled against singer R. Kellyâpresumably related to a second tape, featuring the âI Wishâ crooner engaged in sexual abuse with an underage girl, that was turned over to police on Feb. 14.
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While the Cook County Stateâs Attorney office previously encouraged alleged victims of the Chicago native to come forward, it would not confirm the existence of a new investigation or any grand jury proceedings.
âGrand jury proceedings are, by law, supposed to be secret, so to the extent people are commenting on what may or may not be going on today are possibly violating the law. Still, I can tell you that I am unaware of any proceedings,â Steve Greenberg, an attorney for R. Kelly, told CNN.
âNo one from law enforcement has contacted me or my client regarding any potential investigation,â he continued. âCertainly they are aware that I am representing him so if there were any reason to speak to him I would suspect they would have reached out to me.â
According to CNN, the second tapeâwhich they viewedâshows the embattled singer having sex with a girl who refers to her body parts as 14 years old. However, itâs celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti who turned the tape in to police last weekend, as heâs representing a âwhistleblowerâ against Kelly.
âMy client knows the identity of the girl and R. Kelly. He identified the two of them on the videotape. He worked for and has known R. Kelly for decades and he met the girl on a number of occasions,â Avenatti said.
However, Kellyâs legal team claims they are unaware of any ânew information involving Mr. Kelly,â Greenberg told CNN. âWe 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.â
Meanwhile, Tandra R. Simonton, the chief communications officer for the Stateâs Attorneyâs Office, would not âconfirm or denyâ any investigation when the tape was first reported last week.
As for the details of the âclear and explicitâ tape itself, CNN describes it is 42 minutes and 45 seconds in length.
There are two scenes on the video: one apparently in a living room and another in a bedroom. A naked man who appears to be R. Kelly is seen performing multiple sex acts with the girl. She is heard calling him âdaddyâ multiple times.
It is impossible to know her age just from the video. They both refer to her â14-year-old p***y.â Six times the girl refers to her genitalia as 14 years old.
At one point, the man asks the girl to urinate. After she does, he urinates on her.
If this sounds familiar, itâs because it mirrors many of the alleged acts that lead to the then 35-year-old singerâs arrest for child pornography in 2002, only to be acquitted of all charges six years later.
But hopefully, as the walls continue to close in on the Chicago native in the aftermath of Lifetimeâs harrowing Surviving R. Kelly docuseries, heâll finally be brought to justice.
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