R. Kelly Pleads Not Guilty to 11 New Counts of Sexual Abuse

Singer appeared at his Cook County arraignment on Thursday morning

UPDATE: R. Kelly appeared at his Cook County arraignment on Thursday morning, where he entered a not guilty plea to 11 new sex-related felony charges.

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R. Kelly has been charged with 11 new counts of sexual assault, E! News can confirm. 

A spokesperson for the Illinois Cook County Criminal Court said in a statement, "11 new charges related [to] sexual assault and sex abuse were filed against R. Kelly."

According to court records obtained be E! News, prosecutors filed new counts on the 52-year-old star, including charges related to criminal sex assault, aggravated criminal sex assault and aggravated criminal sex abuse. Of the aggravated criminal sex abuse charges, three of the alleged victims are between the ages of 13 and 16.

Furthermore, four of the aggravated criminal sex assault charges are class X felonies. In Illinois, this means Kelly's charges carry a potential prison sentence of 30 years or more, which many are pointing out is the most he's faced.

However, Kelly's Crisis Manager, Darryl Johnson, claims the charges are "old." He said in a statement to E! News, "We knew they were coming and this was happening. He's not going to jail. We don't have the full details yet."

The singer's lawyer, Steve Greenberg, also shared the same sentiments as Johnson. He tweeted, "#RKelly was NOT charged with a new case. He was recharged in an existing case, same alleged victim and time (a decade ago) It changes nothing."

He continued, "These are the same conduct, just charged differently, same alleged victim, same time frame, same facts. We expect the same results."

Kelly's recent charges follow allegations made earlier this year.

As E! previously reported in February, the singer was charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in Cook County. Documents showed four alleged victims, with nine of Kelly's counts involving victims between the age of 13 and 16. At the time, the 52-year-old star's lawyer entered a not guilty plea on his behalf, which regarded the 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

Despite the recent charges, R. Kelly has consistently denied allegations of abuse and/or misconduct over the years.

He is scheduled to go in front of the presiding judge on June 6, according to a Cook County criminal clerk.

This article was originally published on Thu, May 30, 2019, 1:17 p.m.