R. Kelly is no longer facing local charges in Cook County, Illinois, a change announced by state attorney Kim Foxx at a press conference today (January 30). Kelly had pleaded not guilty to the ten state-level counts of aggravated sexual abuse in 2019, and is currently awaiting sentencing on separate federal charges after being found guilty of possessing child pornography.

Foxx noted multiple times that Kelly’s 30-year sentence from his Brooklyn trial for racketeering and sex trafficking, plus his pending sentence for the federal charges Chicago, would result in Kelly’s imprisonment for several decades. She stressed that the decision to drop the state level charges came from strategic prioritization and a desire to allocate more resources to other, less publicized sexual assault cases. “We have a significant number of cases and survivors who are equally in need of the resources that have been expended on Mr. Kelly’s cases,” she said.

Noting that all of Kelly’s accusers are Black women, Foxx acknowledged that Kelly’s alleged victims might be disappointed by the outcome, but that the decision is “not an indication that we don’t see them.” She further commended the women who had testified against Kelly amid other federal trials in Brooklyn and Chicago, and said that the dropped charges did not indicate that survivors’ cases were insufficient. “While today’s cases are no longer being pursued, we believe that justice has been served,” Foxx said.

Kelly is currently incarcerated at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago following his September conviction. He’s still facing additional state-level charges for engaging in prostitution with a minor in Minnesota.

If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual assault, we encourage you to reach out for support:

RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline
http://www.rainn.org
1 800 656 HOPE (4673)

Crisis Text Line
SMS: Text “HELLO” or “HOLA” to 741-741