R. Kelly Arrested Again
R. Kelly was arrested today in Miami and hit with child pornography
charges. Police detained the R&B singer (born Robert Kelly) at
an area hotel without incident, and he is being held at the
Miami-Dade county jail with bond set at $12,000.
The charges are the latest in a string of related troubles for
Kelly, 36. Last June, a grand jury in Chicago handed indicted Kelly
on twenty-one counts of child pornography stemming from a videotape
that allegedly features footage of him having sex with an underage
girl. The videotape first surfaced in February 2001, when a copy
was sent anonymously to the Chicago Sun-Times, which
handed it over to police. After the indictment was handed down,
Kelly was arrested in Davenport, Florida, and returned to Chicago.
On June 27th, free on $75,000 bail, he pleaded not guilty to all
twenty-one counts. If convicted in Chicago, he could face fifteen
years in prison and up to a $100,000 fine.
The new charges are a result of the Chicago investigation. After
his detainment in Florida, a search of the home he was renting
turned up twelve photographs of a nude, underage girl; three images
reportedly show Kelly having sex with the girl.
Kelly’s oft-delayed new album, Chocolate Factory, was
pushed back again this week. The album is currently slated for a
February release.