R Kelly To Appear In Court Following Multiple Sexual Abuse Charges

Content warning: This news article contains discussion of sexual assault. If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au.

UPDATE 2.10pm: R Kelly has surrendered to Chicago police following multiple sexual abuse charges.

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R Kelly has been charged by prosecutors in Chicago for multiple accounts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

According to ABC, prosecutor Kimberly Foxx outlined the charges against Kelly in a press conference, saying the ten counts involved four victims.

She said the singer is due to appear in court on Saturday local time.

The Chicago Sun-Times report records show the alleged abuse spans from 1998 to 2010, with three of the victims between 13 and 16 years old.

Kelly was under investigation following the release of a six-part Lifetime series, Surviving R Kelly, that addressed alleged sexual misconduct and claims against the R&B singer and featured "interviews with several of Kelly’s accusers, people formerly in his inner circle, journalists, and even his own family members".

The first episode of Surviving R Kelly aired on Foxtel’s Crime + Investigation channel last night with episodes to be released weekly.

In 2017, the 52-year-old singer publicly denied allegations of housing six women against their will. He has also previously settled a dozen civil lawsuits out of court that alleged "illegal sexual relationships".

In 2008, he was acquitted on 14 counts of making child pornography.

In May last year, a #MuteRKelly campaign was launched against Kelly through an open letter, signed by the “Women Of Color Within Time’s Up”.