R. Kelly's road through criminal woes becomes much tougher as feds join forces against him
CHICAGO â For nearly two decades, R. Kelly was hounded by whispers: persistent accusations that the R&B legend abuses, controls and sexually exploits teenage girls.
In recent years the whispers have grown to shouts, leading to mass boycotts of his music, an explosive TV docuseries and four pending Cook County sex-crime cases.
But two blockbuster federal indictments unveiled Friday promise to eclipse all of his recent troubles - and could potentially put Kelly behind bars for the rest of his life.
"For the federal government at this point to become involved in two separate, very serious cases, they must absolutely believe that they have the goods on him," said Steven Block, a former federal prosecutor who also served as head of special prosecutions for Cook
