Chicago prosecutors will no longer pursue the pending sexual assault cases against R. Kelly.
Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx announced Monday that her office will move to drop the 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse at a hearing on Tuesday, citing the disgraced singer’s previous convictions, high cost of prosecution, and limited resources.
According to WGN-TV, the decision to drop the charges was prompted by the 30-year prison sentence that Kelly is currently serving after being found guilty in his federal sex trafficking case in New York. He also faces additional time for his conviction in his federal child porn trial in Chicago.
“Mr. Kelly is potentially looking at a possibility of never walking out of prison again for the crimes that he’s committed,” Foxx said. “This office, in the pursuit of justice for the victims in our indictment as well as those across the country, worked tirelessly to get us to this point. While today’s cases are no longer being pursued, we believe that justice has been served and the sentences that have already been handed down to Mr. Kelly, as well as the sentence that will come down next month.”
In February 2019, a Cook County grand jury indicted Kelly on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse involving four alleged victims, three of whom were underage. The alleged incidents all occurred between 1998 and 2010.
Foxx spoke with each of the four alleged victims before deciding to drop the charges. She also said she was confident that her office would have secured convictions if the four cases proceeded to trial.
“We brought the charges believing that we had sufficient evidence to support findings of guilt in the court of law,” Foxx said. “That’s why we brought them.”
In September, a federal jury in Chicago convicted Kelly on three counts of child pornography and three counts of enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity. He will be sentenced on Feb. 23.
Kelly is also facing charges of engaging in prostitution with a minor and soliciting a minor for sexual purposes in Minnesota.