Score:   1
Docket Number:   ND-IL  1:19-cr-00567
Case Name:   USA v. Kelly et al
  Press Releases:
CHICAGO — Chicago recording artist ROBERT SYLVESTER KELLY, also known as “R. Kelly,” has been arrested on federal child pornography and obstruction charges.

A 13-count indictment returned Thursday in U.S. District Court in Chicago charges Kelly with producing and receiving child pornography, and enticing minors to engage in criminal sexual activity.  The charges accuse Kelly of engaging in sex acts with five minors and recording some of the abuse on multiple videos.  The indictment also charges Kelly with conspiring to intimidate victims and conceal evidence in an effort to obstruct law enforcement, including an investigation in the 2000s that resulted in his trial in 2008 in Cook County on state child pornography charges. 

Kelly, 52, of Chicago, was arrested Thursday night.  He is scheduled to appear for an arraignment and detention hearing on Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. before U.S. District Judge Harry D. Leinenweber in Chicago.  Kelly is charged with one count of conspiracy to receive child pornography, two counts of receiving child pornography, four counts of producing child pornography, five counts of enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity, and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice.

The indictment also charges two former employees of Kelly’s music business: DERREL MCDAVID, 58, of Chicago (one count of conspiracy to receive child pornography, two counts of receiving child pornography, one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice), and MILTON BROWN, also known as “June Brown,” 53, of Chicago (one count of conspiracy to receive child pornography).  McDavid is scheduled to make an initial court appearance today at 11:00 a.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Young B. Kim in Chicago, while Brown is scheduled to make an initial appearance before Judge Kim on July 19, 2019, at 11:00 a.m. 

The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; James M. Gibbons, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in Chicago; and Tara Sullivan, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago.  Substantial assistance was provided by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and the Chicago Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Angel Krull, Abigail L. Peluso and Jeannice W. Appenteng represent the government.

“This indictment demonstrates our office’s commitment to holding individuals such as Kelly accountable for criminal sexual abuse of minors, protecting the victims of such crimes, and punishing those who obstruct law enforcement investigations,” said U.S. Attorney Lausch.  “I thank the courageous individuals who provided law enforcement with important information related to these allegations, and I encourage others with helpful information to do the same.  Together with our law enforcement partners and with the help of victims and other witnesses, we will continue to vigorously investigate and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children.”

“Today’s arrest serves as a reminder of HSI’s commitment to protecting the most vulnerable members of our society – our children,” said HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Gibbons.  “We will continue to work in partnership with fellow law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to bring those engaged in child exploitation to justice.”

A separate federal indictment was unsealed today in the Eastern District of New York charging Kelly with racketeering for allegedly operating a criminal enterprise that promoted Kelly’s music and recruited women and girls to engage in illegal sexual activity.  Kelly will appear for a removal hearing on the New York charges today at 1:45 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheila Finnegan in Chicago.

Kelly is an award-winning recording artist and record producer who has operated various music businesses in Chicago.  According to the indictment in the Northern District of Illinois, Kelly met the five victims in the late 1990s.  Kelly engaged in sex acts with the victims while they were all under the age of 18, and he created numerous explicit videos with four of them, the indictment states.  The charges allege that Kelly and McDavid in 2001 began paying an acquaintance hundreds of thousands of dollars to collect the videos for the purpose of concealing and covering up their existence.  When the acquaintance later planned to hold a news conference to publicly announce that he recovered the videos, Kelly, McDavid and others paid him approximately $170,000 in exchange for agreeing to cancel the event, the indictment states.

Kelly and McDavid also agreed to pay one of the minors and another individual for their efforts to return the videos, but only after they took polygraph examinations to confirm they returned all copies in their possession, the charges allege.

The indictment seeks forfeiture of a personal money judgment of approximately $1.55 million.

The public is reminded that charges contain only accusations and are not evidence of guilt.  The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. 

Producing child pornography carries a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years in prison and a maximum of 20 years.  Receiving child pornography and conspiring to receive child pornography are each punishable by a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum of 20 years.  The maximum sentence for enticement of a minor is ten years.  Conspiracy to obstruct justice is punishable by up to five years.  If convicted, the Court must impose reasonable sentences under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

If you believe you are a victim of sexual exploitation by Robert Sylvester Kelly, you are encouraged to contact HSI’s confidential tip line by calling 1-866-DHS-2-ICE (1-866-347-2423) or by logging on to https://www.ice.gov/webform/hsi-tip-form.  The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Docket (0 Docs):   https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1O7zbCSu5fDWPnzPqhDrs_bcx4gSGEv3KPFQBe5jA8wc
  Last Updated: 2023-10-27 05:45:14 UTC
Description: The fiscal year of the data file obtained from the AOUSC
Format: YYYY

Description: The code of the federal judicial circuit where the case was located
Format: A2

Description: The code of the federal judicial district where the case was located
Format: A2

Description: The code of the district office where the case was located
Format: A2

Description: Docket number assigned by the district to the case
Format: A7

Description: A unique number assigned to each defendant in a case which cannot be modified by the court
Format: A3

Description: A unique number assigned to each defendant in a case which can be modified by the court
Format: A3

Description: A sequential number indicating whether a case is an original proceeding or a reopen
Format: N5

Description: Case type associated with the current defendant record
Format: A2

Description: A concatenation of district, office, docket number, case type, defendant number, and reopen sequence number
Format: A18

Description: A concatenation of district, office, docket number, case type, and reopen sequence number
Format: A15

Description: The status of the defendant as assigned by the AOUSC
Format: A2

Description: A code indicating the fugitive status of a defendant
Format: A1

Description: The date upon which a defendant became a fugitive
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The date upon which a fugitive defendant was taken into custody
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The date when a case was first docketed in the district court
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The date upon which proceedings in a case commenced on charges pending in the district court where the defendant appeared, or the date of the defendant’s felony-waiver of indictment
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: A code used to identify the nature of the proceeding
Format: N2

Description: The date when a defendant first appeared before a judicial officer in the district court where a charge was pending
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: A code indicating the event by which a defendant appeared before a judicial officer in the district court where a charge was pending
Format: A2

Description: A code indicating the type of legal counsel assigned to a defendant
Format: N2

Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the highest severity
Format: A20

Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE1
Format: N2

Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE1
Format: A4

Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE1
Format: A4

Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE1
Format: A3

Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the second highest severity
Format: A20

Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE2
Format: N2

Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE2
Format: A4

Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE2
Format: A4

Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE2
Format: A3

Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the third highest severity
Format: A20

Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE3
Format: N2

Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE3
Format: A4

Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE3
Format: A4

Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE3
Format: A3

Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the fourth highest severity
Format: A20

Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE4
Format: N2

Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE4
Format: A4

Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE4
Format: A4

Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE4
Format: A3

Description: The FIPS code used to indicate the county or parish where an offense was committed
Format: A5

Description: The date of the last action taken on the record
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The date upon which judicial proceedings before the court concluded
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The date upon which the final sentence is recorded on the docket
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The date upon which the case was closed
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The total fine imposed at sentencing for all offenses of which the defendant was convicted and a fine was imposed
Format: N8

Description: A count of defendants filed including inter-district transfers
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants filed excluding inter-district transfers
Format: N1

Description: A count of original proceedings commenced
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants filed whose proceedings commenced by reopen, remand, appeal, or retrial
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants terminated including interdistrict transfers
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants terminated excluding interdistrict transfers
Format: N1

Description: A count of original proceedings terminated
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants terminated whose proceedings commenced by reopen, remand, appeal, or retrial
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants pending as of the last day of the period including long term fugitives
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants pending as of the last day of the period excluding long term fugitives
Format: N1

Description: The source from which the data were loaded into the AOUSC’s NewSTATS database
Format: A10

Description: A sequential number indicating the iteration of the defendant record
Format: N2

Description: The date the record was loaded into the AOUSC’s NewSTATS database
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: Statistical year ID label on data file obtained from the AOUSC which represents termination year
Format: YYYY

Data imported from FJC Integrated Database
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