The singer is facing two counts of prostitution with a individual under the age of 18.
R. Kelly is facing a new set of charges.
Minnesota authorities are charging the R&B singer with two counts of prostitution with an individual under the age of 18 for an alleged incident in 2001, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced at a news conference on Monday.
The alleged victim saw Kelly at City Center, where she requested an autograph. When he signed his name, he included his phone number.
The prosecutor says that when the girl called the number, she was invited to Kelly's hotel room, where the recording artist allegedly offered her $200 to remove her clothes and dance for him. The prosecutor says that the girl removed her clothes and Kelly followed suit, then he danced with her. Sexual contact allegedly occurred.
Kelly invited the underage girl to his concert that night by way of his guest list, placing her very close to the stage, according to the prosecutor. She would not have been able to attend the 18+ concert with a standard ticket.
The alleged victim's older brother was also at the concert and was surprised to see her in attendance, let alone close to the stage. When he asked how she could afford a ticket, she allegedly told him she had gone to Kelly's hotel room and danced for him for money.
"It is despicable that Mr. Kelly used his fame in order to prey on underaged girls," Freeman stated. "While there are more numerous charges in the Illinois and federal cases, we wanted to make sure that our victim here in Minneapolis also receives a measure of justice. We fully expect that at some future date, Mr. Kelly will have to account for his actions in Hennepin County."
Soon after Freeman's announcement, one of Kelly's lawyers, Steven Greenberg, shared a tweet in response.
"Re: New charges @RKelly give me a break. This is beyond absurd," he wrote online.
As Freeman mentioned in his press conference, Kelly is facing federal sex crime charges in New York and Illinois, and sexual assault and sex abuse charges in Cook County, Illinois.
Kelly has vehemently denied all the allegations he faces.
According to a source familiar with the situation, the new alleged incident came to their attention after the alleged victim called a confidential tip line set up by Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx.
According to the source, the State's Attorney received the tip confidentially earlier this year and then forwarded the tip to authorities in Minnesota as the alleged incident took place in their jurisdiction.
ET has reached out to Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx for comment.
See more on the singer below.
RELATED CONTENT:
