MINNEAPOLIS (CelebrityAccess) — Embattled R&B singer R. Kelly is facing new criminal charges in Minnesota, where prosecutors allege he paid an underage girl to engage in sexual activity with him.
According to a statement from Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman, the alleged victim reported that she met Kelly when she was 17 at City Center where fans were getting his autograph and the complaint alleges that he included his telephone number along with his autograph for her.
The complaint alleges the witness then met Kelly at a downtown hotel where he gave her $200 to undress and dance while he fondled her and later gave her a concert ticket to an 18+ show.
The complaint states that a Minneapolis police investigator also spoke to the woman’s brother, who said he was surprised to see her at the concert, much less close to the stage.
The complaint says the brother told investigators that when he questioned his sister on how she obtained the money for a ticket to the show, she said Kelly paid her for dancing but seemed uncomfortable about elaborating on the alleged incident.
Kelly is facing two charges of Prostitution related to the Hire 16 to 17 Yr Old in connection with the alleged incident.
“It is despicable that Mr. Kelly used his fame in order to prey on underaged girls,” Freeman said. “While there are more numerous charges in the Illinois and federal cases, we wanted to make sure that our victim here in Minneapolis also receives a measure of justice. We fully expect that at some future date, Mr. Kelly will have to account for his actions in Hennepin County.”
In statements on social media and to CBS affiliate WCCO, Kelly’s attorney Steve Greenberg characterized the new allegations as “absurd” and a “publicity play” by the Hennepin County prosecutor.
“Assuming that the encounter occurred at all– which I think suspicious and I’d be skeptical in any event– it doesn’t say he ever knew that this girl was 17,” Greenberg told WCCO. “They had no sex. It doesn’t say that he ever paid her for sex which is the essence of a prostitution charge, or that he told her she had to engage in any kind of sexual activity. The whole thing is just some prosecutor who wants to get his face on TV.”
