Prosecutors are looking at a tape Michael Avenatti says shows R. Kelly sexually assaulting an underage girl

Attorney Michael Avenatti says he has a new tape that allegedly shows R. Kelly sexually assaulting an underage girl, and that he has handed it over to law enforcement.

Avenatti said Thursday he has provided investigators with a 45-minute resurfaced video, which he describes as showing "Mr. Kelly engaging in multiple sexual assaults of a girl underage." CNN reviewed the tape and confirmed it shows a man who appears to be Kelly engaging in a sex act with a young girl, and although CNN writes that it is "impossible to know her age just from the video," the girl and Kelly can reportedly be heard referencing her "14-year-old" genitalia. CNN also confirmed that prosecutors are investigating the video.

A previous tape of Kelly allegedly sexually assaulting an underage girl led to him being arrested and charged with 13 counts of child pornography in 2002, but he was ultimately acquitted. Kelly has faced allegations of sexual assault from numerous other women spanning decades, as depicted on the recent Lifetime documentary Surviving R. Kelly. He has continually denied the allegations. Avenatti says that the new video "is not the same evidence previously seen and used in connection with the prior criminal matter." Avenatti also says the events depicted on the tape occurred within the Illinois statute of limitations.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

This tape, Avenatti says, comes from a "whistleblower" he is representing, and he told CNN this person "has worked for and has known R. Kelly for decades" and knows the identity of the girl in the video.

The New Yorker in a report Thursday mentioned the resurfacing of this tape and cited a law enforcement official as saying that "an indictment is pending and Kelly could be arrested soon."