The child prostitution case in Minnesota against singer R. Kelly will be dismissed by the Hennepin County Attorney's Office, the office announced Tuesday.
Minnesota charges against R. Kelly dropped following federal convictions
Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison on federal charges for racketeering and sex trafficking, meaning he would be in his 80s by the time he could be released.
May 17, 2023 at 12:48AM
The decision to dismiss the 2019 case was made with consideration to Kelly's federal convictions, for which he already has lengthy sentences.
Kelly had faced two charges for allegedly paying for sex with a 17-year-old girl he met while signing autographs at the Minneapolis City Center in 2001. The woman reported the incident in 2019 when she was an adult.
The charges say she got an autograph where Kelly also gave his phone number; she called the number and was directed to his hotel room by one of his staff members.
The woman said Kelly gave her $200 to dance naked for him, and that he took off her clothes before he fondled and touched her "all over." Kelly allegedly gave her a backstage pass for the show despite it being 18-and-over and said he would see her at the concert.
In the Tuesday news release, the County Attorney's Office said it believes the girl had never been a sex worker and that she was a victim of Kelly's "predatory behavior." If the case went to trial, the office said it believes he would have been convicted.
"We believed then and continue to believe the victim survivor as to what Mr. Kelly did to her in this case," the office said.
Despite that, the likelihood that Kelly will spend the rest of his life in prison for federal charges led the office to dismiss the case.
Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison on federal charges for racketeering and sex trafficking, meaning he would be in his 80s by the time he could be released.
"The overwhelming impact of proceeding to trial in this case on the survivor victim, the community, and the Hennepin County legal system would be enormous while a conviction would not add any additional time in prison," the release states.
