Police Confirm R. Kelly Under Investigation in Detroit for 'Criminal Sexual Conduct' Allegation
Police in Detroit are looking into claims that R. Kelly was involved in alleged sexual relationship with a teenage girl nearly 20 years ago, PEOPLE has confirmed.
Chief James Craig said in a statement his department was tipped off by the Chicago Police Department to a “criminal sexual conduct” allegation against Kelly that “possibly occurred” in Detroit in 2001.
“We are aware of the allegations made against R. Kelly that possibly occurred in 2001. We’ve received information from [the] Chicago Police Department of a victim, who lives out-of-state, who had made allegation[s] of a criminal sexual conduct incident against R. Kelly,” the statement read. “The incident allegedly occurred in the City of Detroit when the victim was 13 years old. Based on the information received we have made several attempts to follow up with her. We have reached out, at the direction of the victim, to her lawyer and we are eagerly waiting to speak with her.”
An attorney for Kelly, whose real name is Robert Kelly, did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
CBS 2 Chicago reports the alleged victim was visiting her mother in the Motor City and was connected to Kelly via his assistant, who was also her friend.
Kelly and the teen, who is now 30, allegedly had sex at a hotel in Detroit in December 2001, and again at a recording studio in the city several weeks later.
RELATED: R. Kelly Cried in Interview While Addressing Child Support Payments Before Arrest
She also reportedly claims that the “I Believe I Can Fly” singer gave her herpes when she was 17 years old after she visited him in his Atlanta home over a period of four years, according to the CBS 2 Chicago report.
Kelly, 52, was previously charged with 10 counts of criminal sexual abuse against four alleged victims in Chicago in February.
RELATED: R. Kelly Claims Abuse Allegations Are ‘Lies’ in Emotionally Charged Interview, Blames ‘Social Media’
He was jailed on the charges last month, but freed after paying 10 percent of his $1 million bail amount. He has pleaded not guilty.
Kelly was behind bars again Wednesday after a child support hearing in which he was ordered to pay his ex-wife Andrea “Drea” Kelly the $161,000 he owes her, the Cook County Sherriff’s Office confirmed to PEOPLE.
The R&B singer’s arrest came hours after his first TV appearance since he was charged in February aired on CBS.
In an increasingly emotional and heated interview with Gayle King on CBS This Morning, Kelly denied all allegations of abuse, and cried as he claimed his ex was “destroying” his name and making it impossible for him to work and subsequently earn an income.
“Stop it. Y’all, quit playing! I didn’t do this stuff,” Kelly said. “This is not me! I’m fighting for my f—ing life!”
“Y’all killing me with this s—!” Kelly continued emotionally, standing up. “I gave you 30 years of my f—ing career!”
King also sat down with two of Kelly’s girlfriends, Joycelyn Savage and Azriel Clary, who defended the star and denied he tore them away from their now-estranged families.
“I’m crying because you guys don’t know the truth,” Clary said in a clip of the interview, which aired Thursday morning. “You guys are believing some f—ing facade that our parents are saying. This is all f—ing lies for money, and if you can’t see that, you’re ignorant and you’re stupid.”
If you suspect domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
