(AP) – R&B singer R. Kelly has been charged with racketeering and sex-related crimes against women and girls in sweeping New York federal indictment.
The 18-page indictment unsealed Friday accuses Kelly and members of his entourage of recruiting women and girls to “engage in illegal sexual activity with the singer. He is the only person named in the indictment. It describes rules that Kelly had for the women, including not allowing them to eat or use the bathroom and not permitting them to look at other men and telling them to keep their heads down.
Besides racketeering the indictment includes charges of transporting for prostitution and coercion or enticement of a female.
Kelly’s attorney has said the charges are not a surprise and that Kelly hopes to be released at a bail hearing next week. The singer has denied wrongdoing.
Kelly already faces separate state sex-related charges 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.
