Embattled R&B singer R. Kelly has been charged with additional, more serious criminal counts involving one of the four victims whom prosecutors contend he sexually abused years ago, according to court records and Kelly’s attorney.
Steve Greenberg says 11 new sex-related counts filed by Cook County prosecutors against the singer "are not really new." He added that it’s the “same alleged victim, same time frame, same facts.”
Prosecutors presented the new charges in a Thursday filing.
The new charges include four counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, two counts of criminal sexual assault by force, two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, and three counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse against a victim between the ages of 13 to 16.
If convicted, Kelly could get up to 30 years in prison on the new charges alone—the most serious sentence he has faced yet.