Is the Lifetime movie ‘Surviving R Kelly’ responsible for finally bringing the superstar down?
Current Events
According to Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, R&B singer R Kelly was indicted last Friday afternoon on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse (a class 2 felony) involving 4 new victims. By Friday night, the singer was in handcuffs after surrendering himself to Chicago police and arrested on a $1 million dollar bond. Under the terms of his bond, Kelly was required to surrender his passport and may not have contact with anyone under the age of 18.
For more than 2 decades, R Kelly has been marked as an alleged sexual abuser and pedophile. A 1994 wedding to then 14-year-old singer Aaliyah combined with a videotape of a man who appears to be Kelly urinating on and having sex with another 14-year-old girl led to a 2008 trial of the now 52-year-old Grammy winner. However, despite a myriad of child pornography charges against him involving dozens of other underaged girls, Kelly was acquitted and set free.
So, did R Kelly change his ways and straighten out his life after dodging the bullet of conviction? Apparently, he did not since, according to the Lifetime movie, Kelly met an underaged fan outside the courtroom during his trial and engaged in a sexual relationship with her immediately following his acquittal.
To Kelly, all the women are lying. ALL of them. Only he is innocent.
However, a new piece of evidence could be the end of the road for the “I Believe I Can Fly” singer.
A grand jury was convened in Cook County, Illinois, earlier this month after attorney Michael Avenatti provided the State’s Attorney’s Office with a videotape reportedly showing R Kelly having sex with an underage girl. The 42-minute tape is clear and explicit and, according to news reports, involves yet another 14-year-old girl.
Charges of pedophilia against the R&B singer are only a portion of the accusations he’s currently confronting. Kelly also faces allegations that he has regularly held dozens of adult women against their will as part of what some of their parents have deemed a “cult,” as well as more accusations of abuse, manipulation and inappropriate encounters with underaged girls and young women.
In the 2008 case, prosecutors were unable to convince any of the girls to testify against Kelly. In fact, the father of the 14-year-old girl in the original video was bribed hired to play guitar on Kelly’s tour and remains employed by him to this day. However, this time, prosecutors say they have several victims willing to cooperate and testify.
If convicted, the Grammy Award-winning singer could be sentenced to up to 70 years behind bars.
“This tape leaves no question as to whether R. Kelly is guilty of multiple sexual, illegal acts against a 14-year-old girl. Repeatedly in the video, both the victim and Mr. Kelly, refer to the victim’s age as being 14.” – Michael Avenatti
With new charges, willing victims, and public sentiment squarely against him, it looks like Kelly might just face the music this time around.
YOU ARE NOT ALONE
Among R Kelly’s most famous songs includes the hit “You Are Not Alone.” That tune provided a timely narrative to Kelly’s sexual dysfunction as well as another top story from last week.
Robert Kraft, the billionaire owner of the six-time Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots and avid Donald Trump supporter was charged Friday with soliciting prostitution at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, Florida.
Kraft was captured in a sting operation after the Martin County Sherriff’s Office hosted a press conference to announce a human trafficking ring involving numerous spas in 3 counties, including Orchids of Asia.
According to the police report, Chinese women were recruited and transported to the US under the guise of being given legitimate jobs, only to be held captive once at the spas and forced to have commercial sex. Kraft and other male clients at the spa were allowed to purchase females at the rate of $59 for 30 minutes or $79 for 1 hour.
Under the United States Trafficking Victims Protection Act, sex trafficking and the recruitment or transfer of a person; through force, fraud, or coercion; for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation is a severe crime that is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
According to the International Labour Organization, sex trafficking generates annual profits of nearly $100 billion dollars and is the most profitable form of slavery in the world.
OK WASSUP! covers Current Events:
R Kelly and Robert Kraft sex crimes.
Thanks for covering these two stories DJ……..
Not feeling too well (this weather is really wreaking a bit of havoc with my health these days) so I’ll be brief.
The fact that it’s taken this long to finally get some Real attention paid to Kelly’s predatory deeds is just further proof that, in America, Black lives really ARE treated as much lesser value than Whites. Had Kelly’s *prey* been young White girls law enforcement would have locked his sick Black behind up a long time ago.
Will Kelly finally be held accountable for his madness this time? We shall see.
Re: Robert Kraft
Is there much more trouble waiting for Kraft as it relates to the sex-trafficking part of this sorry story and how much he actually knew about it? Yep. I think there is.