Popular American soul singer, Robert Kelly a.k.a. R. Kelly is in custody after being arrested in Chicago on sex trafficking charges, according to reports in the US.
According to the US Attorney’s Office in Chicago there are said to be 13 charges against the singer, including child abuse images and obstruction of justice.
The 52-year-old was arrested by New York Police Department (NYPD) and Homeland Security officials.
He has already pleaded not guilty to more than 20 sexual offences.
- Kelly has been accused of different sexual abuse allegations for two decades.
The allegations were brought back into the spotlight following the documentary series “Surviving R. Kelly”, which detailed stories about him pursuing teenage girls going right back to the start of his career.
The R&B artist was charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in February. He pleaded not guilty and has been released on bail.
In May he was charged with 11 more sexual offences, relating to sexual assault and abuse of a minor aged between 13 and 16, which he pleaded not guilty to last month.
It is not yet known whether the new federal charges are linked to the same cases.
In the US a person can be charged with a federal crime if they’ve broken laws in more than one state. The charges are generally more severe than state charges.
The singer has stood trial on sexual offences once, being acquitted of child pornography charges by a jury in 2008.
