R. Kelly’s charges of sex abuse in Illinois have been dropped.
According to Associated Press, Chicago prosecutors deemed his previous convictions in New York and a pending conviction in Chi-Town more than enough to ensure he would be locked away for decades.
Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx elaborated on their decision to drop the state charges accusing Kelly of sexually abusing four people, including three minors. Foxx shared that she knows this may come as “disappointing” to the alleged victims but they “believe justice has been served.”
“Mr. Kelly is potentially looking at the possibility of never walking out of prison again for the crimes that he’s committed,” Foxx asserted. “While today’s cases are no longer being pursued, we believe justice has been served.
“I want to make sure that the announcement today and the fact that we are no longer going to continue to pursue these cases is not an indication that we don’t see them. We believe in a victim-centered approach where we recognize the needs of our survivors and recognize that sometimes justice is served even when there is no conviction.”
The state attorney is seeking to ask a judge to dismiss the indictments on Tuesday (Jan. 31)
As the Cook County charges have been dropped, the “I Believe I Can Fly” singer is also facing impending charges in Hennepin County, Minnesota. It finds the 56-year-old facing solicitation charges, but has been paused while the federal cases are finished. As a result, it’s currently unclear whether Minnesota prosecutors intend to take the disgraced singer to trial.
However, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman expressed a desire to seek justice for the MN victims back in 2019, TMZ reports.
“We always want to charge cases in which police have done the investigation, in which we believe a crime is committed…and we do,” Freeman expressed at the 2019 press conference. “Some might say, ‘Are you piling on?’ He’s got federal charges in New York…Well, frankly, Minnesota victims deserve their day in court.
“In my view, too many prosecutors are ignoring victims. This office doesn’t. It doesn’t disturb me whatsoever that it may not go to trial, as long as he spends time for the crimes he’s committed elsewhere — but I can’t be sure of that unless I’m at the table. And by charging this case, we are at the table.”