The state of Illinois will drop all charges against disgraced singer R. Kelly in Cook County.
State’s attorney for Cook County, Kim Foxx, stated that the fallen “I Believe I Can Fly” singer is already serving “extensive sentences” at the federal level in New York, so “justice has been served.”
Foxx told reporters on Monday that she could not justify investing the time and resources to go to trial given that Kelly has been convicted twice on federal charges and sentenced to a significant prison term in New York last year for racketeering and sex trafficking.
Foxx stated that “sometimes justice is served even when there is no conviction.”
The Grammy-winning musician was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2022 for decades of sexually abusing women and underage girls and boys.
Based solely on his sentence in New York, Kelly will not be eligible for release until he is in his eighties.
Robert Sylvester Kelly, 56, was found guilty on nine crimes, including racketeering and violating the Mann Act, which prohibits the interstate transportation of women and minors for “immoral purposes.”
In addition to his conviction in New York, a federal jury in Chicago found the singer guilty of six counts of child pornography and trafficking. His sentencing is scheduled for February 23.
Foxx warned that the penalty could result in Kelly never leaving jail again.
Therefore, Foxx stated that the Cook County State’s Office will not “spend our limited resources and court time on the indictments that we had previously filed against Mr. Kelly.”
R. Kelly was sentenced to thirty years in prison in 2022 for sexually abusing women and minors.
TNS
According to allegations made by four women in Cook County, the singer was charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault. Three of the women were minors at the time the alleged offenses were committed.
“We have a significant number of cases and survivors who are equally in need of the resources expended on Mr. Kelly’s cases,” Foxx said, adding that the limited resources available should be allocated to similar cases throughout the state.
Foxx stated regarding Kelly’s accusers, “[the decision] does not mean we do not see them.” “I would like to acknowledge that when we filed these charges, we did so because we believed the allegations to be credible and they deserved the chance to have their side of the story heard.”
Foxx stated that she consulted with Kelly’s accusers before to announcing the news.
Foxx added, “For them, going through this process was extremely difficult, and they are pleased with the sentence and judgment against Mr. Kelly.”
Kelly is also charged with soliciting a kid for sexual purposes and engaging in prostitution with a minor at the state level in Minnesota.
»R. Kelly’s Illinois charges dropped owing to federal “extensive sentences”«