The arrest comes months after the singer was charged with 11 additional counts of sexual abuse, which he has denied.
R. Kelly is once again facing legal troubles.
ET has confirmed that the 52-year-old R&B singer was arrested in Chicago on Thursday on federal sex crime charges. ET has reached out to Kelly’s rep, Kelly’s attorney, the NYPD, Chicago Police and Homeland Security for comment.
On Friday morning, Kelly's attorney, Steve Greenberg, tweeted out a lengthy statement in defense of the entertainer, and noted that a bail hearing would take place early next week.
"As has been reported, Robert Kelly was arrested by federal agents last night while walking his dog. The agents were courteous and professional, as was Mr. Kelly. The charges arose from alleged conduct in the Northern District of Illinois as well as the Eastern District of New York," reads the statement. "The conduct alleged appears to largely be the same as the conduct previously alleged against Mr. Kelly in his current State indictment and his former State charges that he was acquitted of. Most, if not all of the conduct alleged, is decades old."
Greenberg continues, "Mr. Kelly was aware of the investigations and the charges were not a surprise. He had already assembled a team of outstanding federal litigators. He and his lawyers look forward to his day in court, to the truth coming out and to the vindication from what has been an unprecedented assault by others for their own personal gain. Most importantly he looks forward to being able to continue making wonderful music and perform for his legions of fans that believe in him."
The arrest comes months after Kelly was charged with 11 additional counts of sexual abuse in May. Kelly has denied all allegations against him. According to court records obtained by ET at the time, he was charged with 11 felony counts of sexual assault and sexual abuse related charges. The charges filed by the Cook County State's Attorney's Office consist of five counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, four counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault and two counts of criminal sexual assault. The alleged incidents occurred between January 1, 2010 and January 31, 2010.
Those charges against Kelly stemmed from the alleged sexual abuse of Jerhonda Pace, then a minor, that she says took place in 2010. Pace told her story of alleged abuse in a docu-series called Surviving R. Kelly. The singer pled not guilty after a court hearing last month.
During a press conference after the hearing, Kelly's lawyer, Steve Greenberg, told reporters, "We pled not guilty to all of the charges because he's not guilty." Greenberg added, "If you didn't do it, then you didn't do it," and said, "I think he's feeling positive. It's tough. Everything is against him."
The singer was previously jailed in March for failing to pay more than $161,000 in overdue child support. He was released three days later after someone covered the debt on his behalf. Additionally, Kelly pled not guilty in February to 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse allegedly involving three girls and one woman over roughly 10 years starting in the late '90s.
In an intense interview with Gayle King for CBS This Morning in March, Kelly spoke out on the allegations against him. The singer continuously claimed that everyone featured in Surviving R. Kelly is "lying" and maintained that he has "absolutely not" broken any laws.
"If you really look at that documentary… everybody says something bad about me. Nobody said nothing good," he said. "They was describing Lucifer. I'm not Lucifer. I'm a man. I make mistakes, but I'm not a devil, and by no means am I a monster."
For more on Kelly's legal woes, watch below.
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