R. Kelly Charged With Sexual Crimes in Minnesota

In discussing the charges at a press conference, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said Kelly is charged with engaging in prostitution with someone under the age of 18 and hiring, offering or agreeing to hire someone for sexual contact. The victim, an autograph seeker, was paid $200, according to prosecutors, to have sexual relations with the musician at his Minneapolis hotel, according to Paul Blume at Fox 9 in the city. 

The victim was under 18 but at least 16 years old at the time, Freeman said, and specifically the incident involved “dancing and sexual contact.” He noted there was no sexual intercourse between Kelly and the victim.

In answering questions that were inaudible on the livestream, Freeman said, “Some might say, ‘Aren’t you piling on [against Kelly], he’s got federal charges in New York, state charges in Cook County [Illionois] and elsewhere. Frankly, Minnesota victims deserve their day in court and that’s why we’re here. In my view, too many prosecutors are ignoring victims. This one doesn’t.”

In response to another question, Freeman said, “Before we can charge a case, we have to have sufficient evidence that a crime has been committed. But we listen to victims and we believe she deserves her day in court.”

In a question about whether the state’s three-year statute of limitations on the incident has expired, as no police report was filed in 2001, Freeman said, “That doesn’t bar the prosecution here. Because he left the state, the statute doesn’t [end] until he returns to the state, and there’s no indication that he’s been in Minnesota for [a duration of] three years, then we have a case.”