Court records say R. Kelly issued 'rules' to alleged victims, required to call him 'Daddy'
CHICAGO -- Singer R. Kelly is in custody in Chicago on federal sex crime charges and is accused of paying off the alleged victim at the center of his 2008 pornography trial to deny that a video depicted sex acts between Kelly and an underage girl.
Kelly was out walking his dog Thursday when he was arrested by Homeland Security agents and NYPD detectives in Chicago on two separate indictments.
The embattled singer appeared in federal court Friday afternoon for what his lawyer described as "essentially an extradition hearing" regarding the charges filed against him in the Eastern District of New York. Kelly will remain in custody until at least Tuesday, when he's due in court for an arraignment on the charges filed in Illinois.
A judge, federal prosecutors and Kelly's lawyer, Steve Greenberg, will meet Monday to determine whether the singer will self-report to New York or be held in custody on the New York charges should Kelly be released on bond on Tuesday.
A federal grand jury handed down a 13 count indictment in the Northern District of Illinois Thursday, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago. The R&B singer has been charged with child pornography, enticement of a child and obstruction of justice.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL INDICTMENT
The indictment unsealed in Chicago federal court Friday says Kelly and his business manager, Derrel McDavid, threatened, intimidated and pressured the girl and her parents to falsify police reports and give false testimony to a grand jury. The indictment also alleges they arranged for the girl and her parents to travel overseas prior to his 2002 indictment so they'd be unavailable to law enforcement investigating the case.
His publicist held a contentious news conference Friday morning in Atlanta to discuss the new charges. Kelly's attorneys have not commented on the latest round of charges.
WATCH: R. Kelly's publicist discusses Kelly's latest arrest
It was also not immediately clear if any of the federal charges were related to any previous sex-related felony charges that have been leveled against the singer.
Kelly also faces racketeering, kidnapping, forced labor and the sexual exploitation of a child charges as apart of a separate five-count indictment out of the Eastern District of New York. Friday morning, federal agents were conducting a search in the singer's residence in Trump Tower in Chicago, ABC News reported.
U.S. Attorney Richard P. Donoghue, HSI Special-Agent-in-Charge Angel Melendez, and NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill announced the charges.
"As alleged, R. Kelly, together with employees and members of his entourage, engaged in a racketeering enterprise that preyed upon women and girls who attended his concerts so that the victims could be available to engage in illegal sexual activity with him at a moment's notice," Donoghue said. "Today that comes to an end. This indictment makes clear that fame and power will not shield anyone from prosecution, particularly predators who victimize vulnerable members of our communities for their own sexual gratification."
According to the indictment and other court filings, Kelly allegedly issued "rules" that many of his sexual partners were required to follow, including that the women and girls were to call him "Daddy"; they were not permitted to leave their rooms to eat or visit the bathroom without receiving his permission; they were required to wear baggy clothing when not accompanying Kelly to an event; and they were directed to keep their heads down and not look at other men. Kelly also isolated the women and girls from their friends and family, and made them dependent on him for their financial well-being.
It says Kelly and his managers, bodyguards and other assistants picked out women and girls at concerts and other venues and arranged for them to travel to see Kelly.
The Chicago native is already facing sexual abuse charges brought by Illinois prosecutors. The 52-year-old was taken into custody back in February, accused of sexually abusing three girls and a woman in Illinois.
Last May, Cook County prosecutors added 11 more sex-related counts. Kelly has maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty to the Illinois charges.
If convicted, Kelly faces a sentence of up to 20 years' imprisonment for the Racketeering and two Mann Act Coercion and Enticement counts respectively, and up to 10 years' imprisonment for each of the Mann Act Transportation counts.
