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A LAWYER REPRESENTING alleged victims of R. Kelly claims to have given Chicago prosecutors new video evidence of the R&B star having sex with an underage girl.
Michael Avenatti said the video is not the same evidence used in Kelly’s 2008 trial, when he was acquitted on child pornography charges.
CNN, which said it had viewed the footage, reported that the nearly 45-minute VHS tape shows a man who appears to be Kelly performing sex acts with a girl who refers to her body parts as 14 years-old.
Tandra Simonton, spokeswoman for Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, would not confirm or deny that the office is investigating.
Kelly and his lawyer have denied allegations of sexual misconduct involving women and underage girls for years.
His attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Associated Press on the latest allegations.
Avenatti is best known for representing porn star Stormy Daniels in a lawsuit against President Donald Trump.
He said his office was retained in April 2018 by multiple people regarding allegations of sexual assault of minors by Kelly, whose legal name is Robert Kelly.
He said the video surfaced during a 10-month investigation that included witness interviews and examination of documents and evidence throughout the US.
Avenatti told Associated Press that the person who provided the tape knew both Kelly and the female in the video.
He also said he did not know where the person had kept the video or why it had not previously been provided to law enforcement.
Both Kelly and the victim are “clearly visible” throughout the recording, as is an identifying mole on Kelly’s back, and both of them refer multiple times to the girl being 14, Avenatti said in a statement.
Kelly can be heard on the tape directing the girl to perform sex acts, the statement said.
The singer also “takes great pains” to adjust the camera to ensure that the acts are recorded “with specificity and at a limited distance,” according to the statement.
Foxx asked potential victims to come forward last month after Lifetime aired its documentary “Surviving R. Kelly”, which revisited the allegations against Kelly and put a spotlight on new ones.
Activists from the #MeToo and #MuteRKelly social media movements used the renewed attention to call for streaming services to drop Kelly’s music and promoters not to book any more concerts. They also held protests outside Kelly’s Chicago studio.
Kelly has denied all the allegations, and his lawyer, said he was the victim of a hit piece, saying the R&B star “never knowingly had sex with an underage woman … never forced anyone to do anything … never held anyone captive … [and] never abused anyone”.
Avenatti said his office is cooperating with Foxx’s office.
“The time has come for him to finally be held accountable for his actions,” he said.
Avenatti did not say when the video was recorded but said the acts depicted in it are within the Illinois statute of limitations for criminal charges.
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He married singer Aaliyah when she was 14 and a judge had to annul it. Alarm bells should’ve rang then ffs
@Jimbo Byrne: and that was well over a decade ago and people are only waking up about him now
R Kelly should have been put to sleep 20 years ago .loads of evidence against him yet he’s still at large.
@BAAB: money can buy freedom!
@BAAB: put to sleep? What like executed?
@BAAB: See also Chris Brown, fans have loved him all through a decade where he still proves time and time again how much of a despicable person he is….and he got rewarded by being in Freaky Friday, making it all a joke!
Where is Judge Dredd when we need him. Guy needs to be put down.
@Thomas Quinn: or the Punisher
@Liam O’Conchubhair: or John Rambo
@Thomas Quinn: Or Liam Neeson
Given the wealth of allegations and mistrust surrounding him it’s abundantly clear that this man, and I use the term very loosely, is far from above suspicion. Anyone making excuses or jokes from something like this should take a step back and take a long serious stock of their own lives.
@Arch Angel: hopefully the victims will strip him of his wealth with unending lawsuits
@Arch Angel: definitely done thing up with him
Strange how Bill Wyman doesn’t get this sort of attention.
Ya can’t be doing that now
Just jail this guy already.
His preference in sexual partner was well known years ago. Why is it only now that it is starting to have a negative impact for him?
I can’t even begin to think of the high-jinx he was up to.
@Jonathan Regan: hijinx – is that a new word for paedophilia? Or rape? Must look that one up.
@Jonathan Regan: so you think the rape of a child is ‘high jinx’?
For his defense, R Kelly admitted: – she is 14 alright but she looks like she is 15
He’s gotten away with it for far too long.
Guy seems to have problems.
May just have been role playing on this tape to get his kicks.
I really hope he was.
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