Hennepin County Attorney drops solicitation charges against R. Kelly
R. Kelly, right, arrives with manager Derrel McDavid at the Cook County Criminal Courts Building for his child pornography trial on May 20, 2008, in Chicago. (Michael Tercha/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service / Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The Hennepin County Attorney's Office is dismissing its criminal case against disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly for solicitation involving a teen girl, following federal convictions for Kelly for other sexual misconduct.
Kelly was charged in August 2019 with two counts of prostitution and solicitation involving a girl under 18 stemming from a 2001 incident. In that case, Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, met the 17-year-old victim while he was in Minneapolis for a concert. The charges alleged that Kelly gave the girl his phone number while signing an autograph.
According to the charges, the girl later called Kelly and was told to go to Kelly's hotel in Minneapolis. At the hotel, the victim said Kelly removed her clothes and paid her $200 to dance and perform sexual acts with him. Afterward, the girl was invited to Kelly's concert.
The victim reported the altercation in 2019, as Kelly was facing federal charges for abusing other women and girls who attended his concerts.
Earlier this year, R. Kelly was sentenced to 20 years in prison for federal child sex crimes in Chicago. He was already serving a 30-year sentence for another conviction on federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges in New York. In total, the 56-year-old singer is set to serve up to 31 years behind bars.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office said the federal convictions were the reason behind the state dropping the case.
We believed then and continue to believe the victim survivor as to what Mr. Kelly did to her in this case," the statement from the Hennepin County Attorney's Office reads. "And we continue to hold the unwavering position that Mr. Kelly would likely be convicted of these charges if the case proceeded to trial."
The statement continues: "However, despite our belief in the victim survivor, we have decided to dismiss this case in light of the federal convictions of Mr. Kelly for which he received lengthy federal prison sentences and will likely spend the rest of his life in prison."
The county attorney adds the impact on the victim, community, and legal system would not likely result in Kelly facing any additional prison time.
In a statement released by her attorney Gloria Allred, the victim in the case, identified only as Jane Doe, said she was upset Kelly won't face persecution in Minnesota.
"As a surviving victim of R. Kelly, I feel sad about the fact that Hennepin County Attorney’s Office in Minnesota decided not to hold him accountable for what he did to me when I was a minor. If there had been a criminal trial, I would have been willing to testify against R. Kelly. Even though it wouldn't have brought any extra prison time for him, it would have given me closure.
"I didn't come forward for money or fame. I came forward because I was one of his surviving victims and needed justice as this has been weighing heavily on me for over 20 years. What R. Kelly did to me impacted my life in many ways and will continue to hurt me for the rest of my life."
A civil suit filed against Kelly remains outstanding for the case. In December, Kelly's attorneys asked for the lawsuit to be suspended for six months due to Kelly's prison sentence.