Details are thin so far: https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/r-kelly-indicted/index.html
Long overdue, from what I’ve read.
TV news says 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, stemming from '98 to '10.
I heard an interview with the woman who made the documentary “Surviving R. Kelly”. I’ve not watched the documentary.
According to the woman, Dream Hampton, Kelly would have the girls and their families sign documents to the effect of “We attempted to blackmail R. Kelly” as soon as he got close with them. Then if they would try to speak out against him, he could show the documents they signed as “proof” that he was being set up.
Here’s the NPR interview with Dream Hampton and some text overview.
From the pieces I heard, it seemed that his victims would often want to go back to him - Stockholm Syndrome - much like the young girl who was kidnapped and profiled in the Netflix documentary Abducted in Plain Sight.
Hampton does discuss the phenomenon of “everyone knew it was happening but no one would or could speak out” as well.
Let’s hope it sticks this time.
Apparently there are at least four victims and some of them were under 17.
3 of them minors ages 13 to 16 and he video taped at least one of them.
I know from personal experience trying to put cases like this together that it’s very difficult to get enough evidence after this much tiime. Hopefully it’s enough.
A video would qualify as pretty good evidence.
Well, there is this: Chappelle's Show - R. Kelly's "Piss on You" Video - YouTube
It got thrown out before. ETA: rather, a video was thrown out before when prosecuting Kelly for statutory rape/child pornography charges. One in which he apparently urinated on a 13 year old girl.
It’s even more difficult when the victim doesn’t cooperate. In the previous case the named victim denied it was her and did not cooperate. The prosecution could not prove to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that it was her.
The tape wasn’t thrown out. The jury saw it.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2008-06-14-0806140185-story,amp.html
I heard the charges were so outrageous the Catholic church immediately appointed him archbishop of Philadelphia!
Just saw on CBS News a clip from an upcoming interview with him. It is gonna be bonkers.
I would have liked to be a fly on the wall when he told his lawyers that he was going to be interviewed about a pending criminal trial.
My daughter said someone posted a frame from that clip with the comment, “If Gayle King ever looked at me like that, I would explode.”
Exactly how did he imagine such an interview would help his case? He comes across as deranged. Is he hoping to provoke a mistrial?
Just when I was starting to lose my faith in my fellow liberals at Salon and right here on the Straight Dope (“Smartest, Hippest!”), I am grateful and relieved to see that the blame has been rightfully cast on the obvious Real Villian in this sad saga, namely white men.
O childe, how the devil must laugh…