R. Kelly has been hit with a new indictment in Chicago that includes even more sexual abuse allegations against him. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that federal prosecutors filed the indictment against the disgraced R&B singer on Thursday, adding a new victim to the case and removing another.
As a result of the new charges, Kelly has been ordered to appear for arraignment at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse in Chicago. This also means that his trial scheduled for April could be delayed. He has remained behind bars at Chicago's Metropolitan Correctional Center since he was arrested last July. He is still facing similar indictments in Brooklyn, as well as charges in Minnesota.
He is facing charges of child pornography, obstruction of justice, and racketeering. In the New York case, which was recently revised to include accusations that he obtained fake identification to marry Aaliyah, it was ruled last month that Kelly's lawyers would have to wait to find out who two of his accusers are. The identities of the individuals will be revealed to his legal team shortly before the trial date.
The decision was made due to "substantiated" concerns that Kelly could interfere from jail. It has been alleged that the singer has used an "unmonitored line" to make an off-the-record phone call, while he has also been accused of smuggling a letter. Prison staff reportedly gave him the opportunity to use a telephone to make a call that "was not recorded and circumvented the protocols in place to ensure monitoring of the defendant's communications."
He is expected to go to trial in Chicago in April, and New York in July.
