A press conference held Friday morning by R. Kelly‘s publicist, Darrell Johnson, turned ugly when a family concerned about their daughter interrupted the proceedings.
Caught on video, the Savage family confronted Johnson about their 23-year-old daughter, Joycelyn, and questioned the publicist about her whereabouts.
R&B singer Kelly, already facing sexual abuse charges brought by Illinois prosecutors, was arrested Thursday night on a federal grand jury indictment listing 13 counts including sex crimes and obstruction of justice.
U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesman Joseph Fitzpatrick said the 52-year-old Kelly was taken into custody about 7 p.m. local time and was being held by federal authorities. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website, Kelly is being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago.
“The counts include child porn, enticement of a minor and obstruction of justice,” Fitzpatrick said.
The Savages have accused R. Kelly of brainwashing their daughter, and claim she’s being held against her will.
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Her parents rushed Friday’s press conference, shouting, “Where is my daughter?”
Johnson replied that he’s “a crisis manager, not a babysitter.”
The Savages had to be physically pushed back at one point.
“This is the same charges, you know a decade of charges happened, this is nothing different,” said Johnson. “We are looking forward to Mr. Kelly’s day in court and he has proven his innocence.”
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On Friday, Steve Greenberg, one of Kelly’s lawyers, tweeted a statement regarding the arrest:
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The arrest was the second time this year that Kelly has been taken into custody in Chicago on sex charges. The 52-year-old Grammy winner, whose real name is Robert Kelly, was arrested in February on 10 counts in Illinois involving four women, three of whom were minors when the alleged abuse occurred. He pleaded not guilty to those charges and was released on bail.
Then, on May 30, Cook County prosecutors added 11 more sex-related counts involving one of the women who accused him of sexually abusing her when she was underage.
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His attorneys could not immediately be reached for comment on the federal charges. Fitzpatrick said Kelly’s arraignment date and time had not yet been set.
News of the new charges comes weeks after Kelly’s lawyers sought to have a Chicago judge dismiss a lawsuit that alleged the artist sexually abused a minor in 1998.
Kelly’s lawyers have argued that she could only have sued up until 2002.
The plaintiff in that lawsuit is one of four people who have accused Kelly of criminal sexual abuse in a separate criminal case.
Kelly has denied the allegations.
— With files from The Associated Press
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