R. Kelly arrested on 1st federal sex crimes charges

R Kelly.
(Image credit: Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images)

Federal agents arrested singer R. Kelly in Chicago on Thursday night after a federal grand jury handed down a 13-count indictment earlier in the day. "The counts include child porn, enticement of a minor, and obstruction of justice," said Joseph Fitzpatrick, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois. These are the first federal charges against Kelly, who also faces multiple sexual assault charges in Illinois; he has pleaded not guilty to the state charges. A law enforcement official tells The New York Times that Kelly will be moved to New York and prosecutors in Brooklyn will announce further details Friday.

Kelly was acquitted of state child pornography charges in 2008, but interest in his relationship with younger women was revived by Lifetime's Surviving R. Kelly documentary earlier this year, a subsequent interview with CBS's Gayle King, and a 2018 BBC series, R Kelly: Sex, Girls & Videotapes.

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Peter Weber

Peter Weber is a senior editor at TheWeek.com, and has handled the editorial night shift since the website launched in 2008. A graduate of Northwestern University, Peter has worked at Facts on File and The New York Times Magazine. He speaks Spanish and Italian and plays bass and rhythm cello in an Austin rock band. Follow him on Twitter.