R&B singer R. Kelly was charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse on Friday by Chicago police. Authorities say four victims were involved.

According to State Attorney Kim Foxx, the singer was indicted by a Cooks County grand jury. Victims were only identified by their initials and up to three of them were under 17 years old at the time of the abuse. The incidents date back to 1998.

Aggravated criminal sexual abuse is classified as a class 2 felony and carries a three to seven year sentence per count. “We anticipate that Mr. Kelly will appear in bond court tomorrow afternoon,” Foxx said. A county judge issued a no-bond warrant for the singer’s arrest.

While it was rumored for years that Kelly was a sexual abuser, it wasn’t until public backlash that the media industry and police started to look into the famed crooner. While he was previously arrested in 2002 for his alleged involvement in a child pornography tape, it was swept under the rug and he was acquitted six years later. Kelly continued on with his life as an abuser until the documentary Surviving R. Kelly came out. The singer was then dropped from his record label.

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His new arrest comes on reports of a tape showing him sexually abusing a child, similar to the tape found in 2002. On February 14, attorney Michael Avenatti brought a recovered VHS videotape allegedly showing Kelly “engaging in multiple sexual assaults of a girl underage” to Foxx’s office.

Twitter users celebrated when news of his arrest broke. Here are some of the best reactions:

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Bill Piersa

Article by Bill Piersa

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