A grand jury has been convened in Cook County, Illinois, in connection with new allegations against singer R. Kelly, CNN reports, citing two sources close to the case.
The latest round of accusations against the singer, who has allegations of sexual misconduct against him dating back 25 years although he has never been convicted -- arise in the wake of a new sex tape that shows the singer engaging in sex acts with an underage girl, according to reports in CNN and The New Yorker. Attorney Michael Avenatti claimed last week that he had given the tape to the State's Attorney's office.
The Cook County State's Attorney would not confirm the grand jury proceedings or the existence of any new investigation, CNN said. Steve Greenberg, an attorney for R. Kelly, told CNN on Monday he had not been notified of a grand jury. He did not immediately respond to Variety's request for comment.
"No one from law enforcement has contacted me or my client regarding any potential investigation," Greenberg told CNN. "Certainly they are aware that I am representing him so if there were any reason to speak to him I would suspect they would have reached out to me."
"Grand jury proceedings are, by law, supposed to be secret, so to the extent people are commenting on what may or may not be going on today are possibly violating the law. Still, I can tell you that I am unaware of any proceedings," Greenberg said.
While Kelly was arrested and tried after a similar tape emerged in 2002, he was acquitted after the woman in the video declined to testify against him. Yet multiple, similar accusations of sexual misconduct have been leveled against the singer over the past 25 years, which were presented in harrowing detail in a Lifetime documentary released last month called "Surviving R. Kelly."
CNN, says it has viewed the tape, which appears show Kelly having sex with a girl who "refers to her body parts as 14 years old." Celebrity attorney Michael Avenatti, who is representing a man he says is a whistleblower against Kelly, told the network that he gave the tape to the Cook County State's Attorney's Office in Chicago last weekend. Earlier on Thursday, Avenatti tweeted a statement noting that he was retained by "multiple clients in connection with allegations of sexual assault of minors" by Kelly.
"My client knows the identity of the girl and R. Kelly. He identified the two of them on the videotape. He worked for and has known R. Kelly for decades and he met the girl on a number of occasions," Avenatti said.
In a long statement obtained Thursday by Variety, Kelly lawyer Steve Greenberg said in part: "Mr. Kelly denies that he has engaged in any illegal conduct, of any kind whatsoever. ... All of the claims by these women were brought forth years ago, rejected by the police, and/or rejected by the courts, but now for their own gain they have rehashed them."
Based on CNN's graphic description, the video shows many similarities between the tape uncovered in 2002, and also features the girl calling the singer "Daddy," among other similarities to previous reports.
Allegations of sexually abusive behavior by Kelly toward young women date back more than 20 years. MIn 1995, when he was 27, he briefly married the late singer Aaliyah, who was 15 at the time (in "Surviving R. Kelly" an executive who formerly worked with the singer says he forged Aaliyah's birth date on the marriage license to say she was 18, and another witness says she saw Kelly and Aaliyah having sex). Just last year, reports of Kelly essentially holding women captive in a "sex cult" were published. Multiple other reports have surfaced over the years.
Last month Kelly's longtime label, Sony Music subsidiary RCA Records, parted company with the singer.
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