Charges of sexual abuse against already convicted singer R. Kelly have been dropped in the US state of Illinois. Public prosecutor Kim Foxx told American media on Monday that the decision was made because the singer is already serving a long sentence.
R. Kelly, 56, is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence after being convicted of an abuse case in New York last year.
Moreover, last fall a jury in Chicago ruled that he was also guilty of sexual offenses there. The judge will rule in that federal case on February 23. Kelly, whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, could face an additional 10 to 90 years in prison.
The case that is now off the table began in 2019 with an appeal from Foxx. She asked his victims to come forward. Four black women, three of whom were minors at the time of the alleged crime, told their stories.
Foxx acknowledges that the decision to drop the case now may be “disappointing” for these victims. Yet this was chosen because of the “extensive sentence” that Kelly already has to serve anyway and the “limited resources and time” of the prosecutor’s office.
In a press conference Monday, Foxx thanked the victims who had come forward, praising their “courage and pursuit of justice no matter how long it took.” She also said their statements helped somewhat with the federal case against Kelly who is serving in Chicago.
