Singer R. Kelly has reportedly been arrested on federal sex trafficking charges, according to law enforcement officials and reported by NBC News.
The 52-year-old singer was taken into custody by NYPD detectives and Homeland Security Investigators in Chicago on Thursday afternoon, officials have shared with NBC’s New York affiliate. He is expected to be brought to New York.
Further details on the case are expected to be announced Friday.
Not much is known about the specifics of the case yet. FOX32 News reporter Tia A. Ewing reported that one of the three (sealed) charges is out of New York, and the other two from Chicago. Kelly is reportedly being held at Chicago’s Cook County Jail. According to Ewing, Kelly’s publicist will hold a press conference Friday morning.
Kelly has been the subject of abuse allegations for nearly two decades, with some reports dating back as far as 1998. The R&B star has been accused of keeping women in a “sex cult” and holding them against their will. In February, Kelly was charged with aggravated sexual abuse involving four women, three of whom were minors when the alleged abuse occurred. Kelly pleaded not guilty to the charges.
In 2017, Illinois passed a bill that eliminated the statutes of limitations for all felony criminal sexual assault and sexual abuse crimes against children.
