{"id":2440945,"date":"2019-02-23T08:28:40","date_gmt":"2019-02-23T15:28:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/?p=799213"},"modified":"2019-02-23T08:28:40","modified_gmt":"2019-02-23T15:28:40","slug":"r-kellys-lawyer-calls-singer-sacrificial-lamb-after-sex-abuse-charges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/music-news\/r-kellys-lawyer-calls-singer-sacrificial-lamb-after-sex-abuse-charges\/","title":{"rendered":"R. Kelly\u2019s Lawyer Calls Singer \u2018Sacrificial Lamb\u2019 After Sex Abuse Charges"},"content":{"rendered":"
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R. Kelly<\/a>\u2019s lawyer held a press conference Friday night outside the Chicago police station where the singer turned himself in to face 10 charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI suspect this is succumbing to public pressure,\u201d Kelly\u2019s lawyer Steven Greenberg told the media. \u201cI think [prosecutors] shouldn\u2019t have rushed to judgment. He\u2019s an innocent man.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Friday, the Cook County State\u2019s Attorney indicted Kelly on 10 counts based on the singer\u2019s alleged sexual encounters with four women, including three that were underage at the time. The charges came just a week after lawyer Michael Avenatti acquired a previously unseen sex tape<\/a> that allegedly depicts Kelly and an underage girl.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t watched Avenatti\u2019s tape. I wonder why [Cook County district attorney] Kim Foxx isn\u2019t investigating him for watching child porn, for disseminating child porn, which I\u2019m sure he\u2019s done many times,\u201d Greenberg said, adding that Avenatti is a \u201ccoward\u201d who \u201cblocked me from his Twitter account.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Greenberg noted that \u201cone of the charges appears to involve the same alleged victim from the earlier tape,\u201d which resulted in a 2008 trial where Kelly was acquitted.<\/p>\n

\u201cDouble jeopardy should bar that case. [Kelly] won that case,\u201d Greenberg added.<\/p>\n

Asked about his client\u2019s wellbeing, the lawyer said, \u201cMr. Kelly is strong. He\u2019s got a lot of support and he\u2019s going to be vindicated on all these charges,\u201d the Associated Press<\/em> reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Prior to Kelly\u2019s surrender to police, when news spread early Friday that the singer had been indicted on charges, Greenberg told CBS Chicago that his client was a \u201csacrificial lamb.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no merit to any of this,\u201d he added. \u201cHe\u2019ll be acquitted because he didn\u2019t do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n