Prosecutors accuse R. Kelly of trying to blackmail alleged victims

Prosecutors have accused R. Kelly of attempting to threaten and intimidate his alleged victims with handwritten letters. Per a new set of court documents obtained by The Blast, prosecutors have used an alleged history of trying to silence victims as reason for Kelly to not be released on bond. While Kelly has claimed he poses no threat to victims if released, prosecutors state that Kelly sent a letter to one of his alleged victims “threatening to release compromising and potentially embarrassing photographs” of her if she continued with her lawsuit against him. Per the documents, the later also “includes certain photographs and screen shots of text message exchanges between the defendant and [the alleged victim]” taken from Kelly’s phone.

Kelly has been in jail since July. He is waiting to be trialled on multiple felonies, including various of sexual abuse and sexual assault. Over the course of the past year, Kelly has faced an increasing stack of criminal charges, including a 13-count child pornography indictment and multiple counts of sexual misconduct.

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