Just a day after two more women came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against R. Kelly, Chicago's Cook County State Attorney has charged him with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, according to the Associated Press.
The charges against the disgraced R&B singer come just a week after celebrated attorney Michael Avenatti handed an alleged sex tape to a grand jury.
Avenatti obtained the incriminating VHS tape while investigating the accusations his clients made against the "I Believe I Can Fly" singer, who has been long-accused of having sex with minors.
At least a dozen women have testified in front of the jury, and one provided physical evidence.
While it's unclear if the tape could be entered into evidence due to the statue of limitations, the Cook County State's attorney has enough to charge Kelly.
The embattled singer is scheduled to make his first court appearance on March 8.
The development in the Kelly case comes six weeks after a Lifetime Documentary series titled Surviving R. Kelly provided an in-depth look into the sexual misconduct allegations against him.
However, women coming forward about Kelly's predatory behavior is nothing new. In fact, it dates back decades.
The 52-year-old has long been linked with having sexual relations with underage girls, child pornography, and in recent years, he has been accused of operating a sex cult.
In 2008, after a six-year ordeal, a jury acquitted Kelly on all counts of child pornography after he allegedly made a graphic sex tape with a girl who was believed to be 13. Had he been found guilty, he would've faced a 15-year in sentence, but the victim refused to testify.
Kelly was also heavily scrutinized for marrying the late singer Aaliyah Haughton when she was only 15 years old. Although Kelly denied on numerous occasions that he had no idea that was her age when they were together, his own manager, Demetrius Smith, revealed that they had to help him forge her documents so she could legally wed.
Their marriage was annulled after a few months, and Kelly reportedly paid Aaliyah $100 so she would "not pursue legal action."
"Aaliyah looked worried, scared," Smith recalled. "I wanted so much to grab Aaliyah, and talk to her... She gave me a look like she wanted me to talk to her. I failed them. Both of them. I knew that it would change the course of everything."
Kelly and his lawyer, Steve Greenberg, have vehemently denied all the accusations. They have yet to issue a statement about Kelly's indictment.
If he's found guilty, he could be facing several years in prison.
