R Kelly will no longer face sex crime charges in Illinois, State’s Attorney Kim Foxx announced on Monday (January 30th), Pitchfork reports.
The ten state-level charges, all of which allege Kelly sexual abuse or assault, were filed in February 2019. Because the disgraced singer was already sentenced to 30 years in prison in a federal racketeering case, and is awaiting sentencing in separate federal child pornography case, “our office has decided not to expend our limited resources and court time with the indictments,” Foxx said at a news conference, explaining the office’s intentions to strategically use their resources on less publicized cases. “We have a significant number of cases and survivors who are equally in need of the resources that have been expended on Mr. Kelly’s cases.”
Foxx went on: “While today’s cases are no longer being pursued, we believe that justice has been served.” She also added that although the four accusers — who Foxx also pointed out are all Black women — might be disappointed, the decision is “not an indication that we don’t see them.”
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In June 2022, Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison after a jury found him guilty of racketeering related to sexual exploitation of children, kidnapping, and forced labor, as well as eight charges of violating the Mann Act, which makes it illegal to “transport any woman or girl” across state lines “for any immoral purpose.”
In a separate federal trial, Kelly was found guilty on three counts of child pornography production, including the sexual exploitation of his then-14-year-old goddaughter, as well as three counts of child sex trafficking through coercion and enticement. Each of the child pornography charges carry a mandatory-minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, and sentencing is scheduled for February 23rd.
Kelly is currently incarcerated at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago. He still faces state-level charges in Minnesota for engaging in prostitution with a minor.
