R Kelly

R. Kelly’s Rep Responds After Prosecutor Drops Sex Abuse Charges

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R Kelly isn’t relieved, despite prosecutors dropping sex abuse charges.

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx said she wants to dismiss sex abuse charges against R Kelly, though this news isn’t necessarily a relief to the embattled singer.

LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 30: R. Kelly performs onstage during R. Kelly, New Edition and The Jacksons at the 2013 BET Experience at Staples Center on June 30, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Earl Gibson III/Getty Images for BET)

Per TMZ, the singer’s rep, Jennifer Bonjean, said she spoke to him following Foxx’s decision. Though she praised the State’s Attorney’s move, she said Kelly continues to face the reality of remaining behind bars for the rest of his life.

Foxx revealed that her decision to reel back from pursuing these charges against Kelly were due to numerous factors, including the cost. Additionally, she said that the federal court already convicted him on two similar counts. “[R. Kelly] is looking at the possibility of never walking out of prison again,” she said. “We believe justice has been served,” she added.

Though the sex abuse charges aren’t necessarily weighing on Kelly’s shoulders, there’s still a good chance he won’t be free anytime soon. “There is no real sense of relief. He is still fighting for his life. He is facing decades in prison,” Bonjean said, adding that Foxx made “the right move” to drop the charges.

CHICAGO, IL – SEPTEMBER 17: Singer R. Kelly appears during a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse on September 17, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. Kelly is facing multiple sexual assault charges and is being held without bail. (Photo by Antonio Perez – Pool via Getty Images)

Prosecutors accused Kelly of sexually abusing four people, three of which were minors at the time.

During his New York trial, a judge sentenced Kelly to 30 years behind bars. However, his sentencing in Illinois takes place in February and could lead to an additional 10 to 90 years behind bars. Sexual abuse charges or not, Kelly won’t be coming home anytime soon. 

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R. Kelly Cases: Chicago Prosecutor Drops Sex Abuse Charges In State Case

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A Chicago prosecutor dropped charges of sexual abuse against R. Kelly. According to multiple reports, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx said cost was a factor in dropping the ten charges. Moreover, she told reporters that these charges are unnecessary to pursue in the face of his current predicament.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – JUNE 26: R&B singer R. Kelly leaves the Leighton Criminal Courts Building following a hearing on June 26, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. Prosecutors turned over to Kelly’s defense team a DVD that alleges to show Kelly having sex with an underage girl in the 1990s. Kelly has been charged with multiple sex crimes involving four women, three of whom were underage at the time of the alleged encounters.
(Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Furthermore, she stated that her office believes “justice has been served against Kelly with those two convictions. Mr. Kelly is looking at the possibility of never walking out of prison again.” To continue, authorities scheduled the R&B singer to appear in court on Tuesday to drop the charges. Moreover, he faced charges of sexually abusing four people, of which three were minors.

However, this state case dates back to 2019, when Foxx said the incidents occurred between May of 1998 and January of 2010. Also, the 56-year-old faced three to seven years in prison for each charge.

Meanwhile, Foxx revealed that she consulted her decision to drop the charges with the women involved in the indictment. While she believes it might come off as a disappointment to some, she hoped they can understand many factors were at play.

“I know firsthand how difficult it is for you to tell your stories,” she expressed. “Four years ago, I stood at this podium and shared my story of having been a survivor and my full understanding of what it means to have to go before strangers to discuss what is arguably one of the most horrific experiences one could have. And these women, all of them Black, came forward, believing that they would be heard.”

Overall, Kelly’s currently serving a 30-year sentence after a New York conviction for racketeering and sex trafficking. In addition, authorities will sentence him in another federal case in Chicago later this month. What’s more is that this news follows the recent release of Surviving R. Kelly’s final installment.

Still, what do you think of the news that a Chicago prosecutor dropped her office’s charges against R. Kelly? Whatever the case, let us know in the comments down below. Also, as always, come back to HNHH for the latest on this case.

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[WATCH] R. Kelly Questions Why Tasha K And Ex-Prison Guard Have Not Been Charged

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Screen Shot 2023 01 07 at 10.28.55 AM

Last week, R. Kelly gave an interview to vlogger Storm Monroe from prison accusing gossip vlogger Tasha K of witness tampering. Kelly accused her of leaking his emails and phone calls ahead of his trial and aggravating his girlfriends by showing them private messages.  

In a new phone interview, R. Kelly demands to know why Tasha K and the prison guard who had access to his information have not been punished or convicted of a crime. The prison guard has since retired and no charges have been filed.

In a call to vlogger Storm Monroe from the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago R. Kelly questions why a Bureau of Prisons official was allowed to get away with leaking his emails and phone calls leading to scorned witnesses that lied on him on the witness stand. Kelly adds that there are search warrants from his case against Tasha that went nowhere and he demands to know why.

Kelly also claims Tasha K has links to some of the parents of his former girlfriends and they worked together to bring him down.  
Watch the interview below.

The post [WATCH] R. Kelly Questions Why Tasha K And Ex-Prison Guard Have Not Been Charged appeared first on The Source.

R. Kelly Claims Tasha K Tampered With Witnesses In His Case

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He will likely spend the remainder of his life behind bars, and allegations against R. Kelly are still pouring in. The disgraced music great was once hailed as one of the best in the business, but these days, his fans are defending his legacy. For decades, Kelly has faced ongoing accusations of child pornography and sex crimes, and he has faced his days in court.

Dozens of outlets tracked and covered Kelly’s trials in New York City and Chicago, but Kelly is paying particular attention to Tasha K. According to him, the YouTuber tampered with witnesses. “Tasha shared my information with the government witness in my case in New York,” Kelly said in a call. “I knew nothing about it ’til I got to Chicago, and it was in the Sun-Times and in the Tribune.”

Read More: R. Kelly Silenced Aaliyah & Her Family With NDAs, Lifetime Doc Claims

The jailed singer added that “it was proven to be true” because they quoted “verbatim everything that Tasha K said that I was saying to my girlfriend.” The host asked if he was referencing Azriel Clary. Kelly answered, “I can’t name any names because that’s my case.”

“The only thing I can say is that, you’re not supposed to do that,” he added. “It’s okay to have witnesses on stands, cases, all of that. No problem. But they’re not supposed to be scorned witnesses. They’re not supposed to be witnesses that’s mad with you because they may have seen some emails or heard some phone calls between you and another woman.”

“That is not how you’re supposed to get your witnesses or have your witnesses.”

Read More: R. Kelly’s Team Attempts To Get Sex Abuse Conviction Acquitted

It seems that Kelly believes Tasha K interfered by turning the women in his life against him just before their testimonies.

The singer also detailed alleged interactions between his girlfriend and others in 2019 he claims he’s been trying to tell the world about for years. Meanwhile, Tasha has a hefty judgment against her; she’s battling against having to pay Cardi B $4 million.

Listen to more from R. Kelly above and below.

[WATCH] R. Kelly Accuses Tasha K Of Ruining His Case In Shocking New Interview

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Last year rumors swirled that blogger Tasha K illegally accessed R. Kelly’s prison emails, triggering an FBI investigation. A retired US prisons officer is under a federal investigation for allegedly leaking tons of illegally-accessed information about musician R. Kelly to Tasha K.

Tasha K, posted a number of videos in which she sips wine and shares information to her thousands of followers, quoting verbatim from Kelly’s recorded phone calls, emails and visitor logs, according to a federal search warrant obtained by the Chicago Tribune.

The officer, named in the warrant as Officer A, is accused of illegally accessing Kelly’s private information while he was an inmate at Chicago’s Metropolitan Correctional Center and leaking it to 39 year-old Tasha K, whose real name is Latasha Kebe. She has not yet been charged with any crime.

Now R. Kelly is blaming Tasha for ruining his case by sharing private information to each of his women.

In a jailhouse phone call with blogger Storm Monroe, R. Kelly accuses Tasha of upsetting his girlfriends by leaking his emails and phone calls turning all his women against him right before his trial.

Listen to the interview below.

The post [WATCH] R. Kelly Accuses Tasha K Of Ruining His Case In Shocking New Interview appeared first on The Source.

Aaliyah’s Uncle Continued To Do Business With R. Kelly After Marriage Annulment: Report

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One of Aaliyah’s relatives is facing backlash after the latest episode of Surviving R. Kelly: The Final Chapter.

In episode three of the jaw-dropping series, Kelly’s former backup dancer, Naia Vestal, who met the singer in 1994, revealed that Aaliyah’s uncle, Barry Hankerson, lied when he said he stopped working with the former singer. Dr. Oz interviewed Hankerson in 2021 when the former music manager made these claims but Vestal pushed back during the latest episode of Surviving R. Kelly. She said that Hankerson was still working alongside Kelly on business ventures.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA – AUGUST 19: Barry Hankerson, founder of BlackGround Records 2.0 attends a celebration of legacy for Aaliyah’s “One In A Million” album release at Paradise Lounge on August 19, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)

“I just remember hearing [him] on the radio,” Vestal said. “I was in Houston driving to work, and Barry Hankerson, his former manager, was saying, ‘Oh when I found out about him messing with my niece Aaliyah, I stopped working with him.’ Nov. of 1994, when I met him, Barry was still his manager. Barry ate breakfast with us.”

Vestal wasn’t the only person who refuted Hankerson’s claims. Jovante Cunningham stated that Aaliyah’s uncle decided to quietly manage R. Kelly, despite his initial intentions to cut ties with the singer.

“I remember coming off tour and Robert saying that he wasn’t gonna renew his management contract with Barry,” she explained. “Barry said, ‘If you don’t renew my management contract, I’m gonna pull the plug on you and Aaliyah.’ And Robert didn’t, or so I thought. And maybe two or three days later is when we found out about the marriage. I didn’t know anything about it.”

According to one of Kelly’s victims, Hankerson is far from innocent in Kelly’s predatorial behavior, even if his involvement in the singer’s schemes were indirect. Lizzette Martinez said she met Hankerson in 1995 following the annulment of Aaliyah and Kelly’s marriage. “For him to be sitting there with underage girls knowing what he had just done to his niece, I don’t know if I really have a lot of respect for this person,” she said.

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R. Kelly Silenced Aaliyah & Her Family With Non-Disclosure Agreements, Lifetime Doc Claims

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R Kelly is behind bars but a critical piece of media that ensured his initial arrest was Lifetime’s Surviving R Kelly series. The documentary dove into the decades-old allegations of sexual abuse against the singer, and eventually, led authorities to arrest him and pressing charges.

Most recently, Lifetime unveiled the third installment in the Surviving R. Kelly series. Dubbed The Final Chapter, the latest season explores his illegal marriage to singer Aaliyah when she was only 15 years old.

Aaliyah during Aaliyah In Concert in Irvine, California, United States. (Photo by Chris Walter/WireImage)

Aaliyah was listed as Jane Doe #1 in Kelly’s 2002 federal trial, and the NDA that she and her family signed was introduced as evidence. However, the doc further details the NDA from those closest to Kelly, including the singer’s bodyguard, Gem Pratt.

Members of Aaliyah’s family didn’t comment on the series. However, Pratt detailed her father’s outrage over the marriage. After demanding an annulment, Kelly arranged an agreement that prevented Aaliyah’s family from pressing charges. In exchange, Kelly sold the rights to his first three albums to her family.

“Her dad didn’t want her anywhere near him,” Pratt said of Aaliyah’s father.

Pratt admitted that there were plenty of enablers in Kelly’s corner prior to his arrest. Meanwhile, prosecutors and legal experts explained that these were critical for the singer’s “criminal enterprise.”

“He couldn’t do this by himself. It’s impossible…It’s clear as day there were enablers,” said Pratt. “This was not a one-man operation. Most people in that camp knew that a lot of these girls were underage. They had to.”

The executive producer of Surviving R. Kelly, Jesse Daniels, explained that they tried to approach the topic as delicately as possible to ensure that they respected her legacy.

“We have had a lot of conversations about how to tell Aaliyah’s story every time because we really want to be respectful of her legacy. But what she went through, we can’t turn our backs on,” said Daniels.

We will keep you posted on anymore developments from Surviving R. Kelly: The Final Chapter.

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“Surviving R. Kelly” Final Chapter Premiere Makes Its Way To Lifetime

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R. Kelly

The Surviving R. Kelly series will air its third chapter on Jan. 3 at 8 p.m. on Lifetime as it continues to delve into the disgraced singer’s inappropriate sexual dealings and 30-year conviction. Updated by Kendall Parks (01/03/2023 at 2:37 pm) As the singer begins to serve his recent 30-year sentence in prison, Lifetime is […]

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R. Kelly Survivor Says Discovering an Aaliyah Sex Tape Led to Being Pushed Down Stairs

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R. Kelly Reportedly Denied Conjugal Visits With Both Girlfriends

Surviving R. Kelly: The Final Chapter made its debut at the top of the year and brought out new horrifying stories about the now-incarcerated R&B legend. One of the new stories is from Ebonié Doyle, who said R. Kelly invited them to his home in 1993, kicking off a relationship that would turn violent once she saw a sex tape with Aaliyah.

“Rob used to … have the tour bus sitting outside of my high school, waiting for me to get out. He was at my high school graduation. He was very, very involved,” Doyle stated.

READ MORE: R. Kelly Denies Joycelynn Savage Has a Baby in New Interview From Behind Bars: ‘She Didn’t Have a Child’

According to Rolling Stone, Doyle allegedly moved in with Kelly after she was kicked out of her home for seeing the singer. She stated he was sexually controlling and would have her sit in an arched-back position for hours and filmed her to see if she held it.

Doyle stated R. Kelly would deny a relationship with Aaliyah but noticed how they had similar body appearances and eventually found a basket of VHS tapes, one of which was a film of Kelly having sex with Aaliyah.

READ MORE: R. Kelly Denies Putting Out ‘I Admit It’ Album, Legal Team Investigating Release

“The tape that I put in was of him and Aaliyah together,” Doyle said. “What I saw on that tape was he and Aaliyah being intimate. They were on the tour bus, and everything that I had asked him was confirmed on the tape.”

Doyle stated once Kelly found out she saw the tape, he pushed her down stairs. Their relationship continued, however, only ending once she stated Kelly would begin to look at her 12-year-old daughters with a weird look during visits to McDonald’s.

Surviving R. Kelly: The Final Chapter debuts on Jan. 2 and Jan. 3 on Lifetime.

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