The Attorney representing a porn star in a legal battle with US President Donald Trump said Thursday his office has previously unreleased footage of R&B superstar R. Kelly having sex with a young girl.
The learned friend said his team discovered the graphic tape as representatives of multiple clients linked to accusations against the American R&B singer, who has faced allegations of sexual assault for decades.
In response to press inquiries, attached is a stmt regarding our work on the R. Kelly matter since April, including the discovery of new critical video evidence establishing his guilt. We will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that this predator is brought to justice. pic.twitter.com/D0dGFzgXlX
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) February 14, 2019
The singer denied the latest allegations on Thursday via his lawyer Steve Greenberg, who said “I have not been contacted by anyone connected with law enforcement, nor has R. Kelly.”
In a statement, Attorney Avenatti said he gave the “new critical video evidence” against the artist to the Cook County State’s Attorney in Chicago, where Kelly, 52, lives.
“We will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that this predator is brought to justice,” Avenatti, 47, tweeted.
Avenatti first came to limelight since he filed a lawsuit for adult film actress Stormy Daniels in March last year seeking to invalidate a 2016 non-disclosure agreement over an alleged affair with Trump in 2006.
He said the events shown in the footage fell within the state of Illinois’ statute of limitations.
The state’s attorney’s office told AFP it “cannot confirm or deny an investigation” but The New Yorker magazine, citing a law enforcement official, said an indictment is pending and Kelly could face arrest.
The 45-minute tape is not the same video that saw Kelly face 21 counts of child pornography charges in 2002, a case in which he was acquitted six years later.
CNN, which got a tape describes it as ‘clear and explicit’. In the video, it says that two scenes shows a naked man who seems to be Kelly engage in several sexual acts with a female who calls out ‘daddy.’ The audio captured indicates that the girl is age 14.
However, Kelly’s lawyer has accused women who have come out public to condemn the matter as doing so to ‘make a buck’ and has denied the latest allegations against his client.
“He would like to be able to continue to write and sing and produce and perform,” Greenberg said, adding that Kelly is working on an album.
“In this age of hashtags we are too quick to rush to judgment simply because something is associated with a hashtag. A hashtag does not make claims credible,” the lawyer said.
Over the past years, the artist whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly — has faced lawsuits and accusations over child pornography, sex with minors, operating a sex cult and sexual battery.
In 1994, he wed his protege Aaliyah, the late R&B star who was 15 at the time.
Kelly, then 27, had produced the teenage singer’s song album titled “Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number.” Their marriage was later annulled, and Aaliyah died in a plane crash in 2001.
Regardless of constant claims against him, the decorated musician — known for hits including “I Believe I Can Fly” — has continued to perform and maintain a solid fan base.