R. Kelly has been charged with two counts of child prostitution and solicitation by Minnesota authorities involving an incident after a concert in Minneapolis in 2001. The new charges are being considered felonies - that is, more serious than misdemeanours - with officers investigating the accusation after receiving a tip from a Chicago tip line.
According to Mike Freeman, a Hennepin county attorney, Kelly is accused of paying an underage girl $200 to take her clothes off and dance with him, while he too removed his clothes. Kelly is said to have met the girl when she asked for his autograph after a concert where he was doing promotional work, at which he gave her his signature and phone number.
When she called the number, she was invited to Kelly's hotel where the incident took place. 'We felt we had more than enough to charge based on her testimony and corroboration from her brother,' Freeman told the LA Times, 'I don’t like buying sex from minors, and I don’t think most other people do either.'
Kelly's attorney Steve Greenberg has called the claims 'beyond absurd', tweeting: 'Re: New charges RKelly give me a break.'
The victim is said to be represented by Gloria Allred, the attorney for many other women accusing R. Kelly of sexual offences, whom hopes her coming forward will inspire other potential victims to seek justice. 'As this new case demonstrates, it is not too late for there to be justice for even more victims of R Kelly,' she said in a statement - commending the woman 'for the courage she displayed in speaking to law enforcement.'
These charges are two of many others R. Kelly has been accused of in the last few years. Last month he was arrested in Chicago for 13 sex-related federal charges including child pornography, sex trafficking, enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity and obstruction of justice.
According to US reports, he is also faced another indictment in New York soon after the Chicago charges. Plus, the 52-year-old had already plead not guilty to more than 20 sexual offences prior to this. His arrest in Chicago came five months after he was released on bail for 10 additional sexual abuse charges filed by Illinois prosecutors in February – and in May he was charged with 11 more sexual offences, relating to sexual assault and the abuse of a minor aged between 13 and 16.
Kelly maintains he is innocent of all charges, according to his "crisis manager" Darrell Johnson, who has been working with the former R&B singer for six months.
Some of the charges he faces stem from accusations made my Jerhonda Pace, which arose following the broadcast of the Lifetime documentary-series Surviving R. Kelly.
The string of allegations so far this year are far from the first time that R. Kelly has faced accusations of sexual misconduct in his career. Two years ago allegations surfaced via an investigation by Buzzfeed News, which accused Kelly of "brainwashing" women and holding them against their will.
Throughout his decades-long career, Kelly has been suspected of sexual abuse of minors – the first known allegations were as far back as 1998. He was acquitted by a jury after going on trial on charges of child pornography, for possessing what prosecutors said was a sex tape involving him and a minor. He now faces both state and more severe federal charges (in the US, a person can be charged with a federal crime if they've broken laws in more than one state) which could mean decades of imprisonment if he is found guilty. Kelly denies all accusations and consistently maintains his innocence.