The day finally came. On Friday, February 21st, a warrant for R. Kelly's arrest was sent. Soon after, he turned himself in. He was officially charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault. Prosecutors alleged that the abuse involved four victims, at least three of them minors, from 1998 to 2010. He pleaded not guilty, (rolls eyes). His bail was set at $100k. Although he did not personally have the bail money, a Chicago businesswoman by the name of Valencia Love posted his bail for him. Smh. While I for one am happy that R. Kelly is being charged and that he could potentially face some serious jail time for his crimes, I also wonder if there will be others who serve time? If not, how will they be held accountable?
One of the reasons why R. Kelly was able to abuse so many women was because he had help. In the documentary series, Surviving R. Kelly, his ex-wife mentions that R. Kelly is unable to read and write. Yet, there is evidence that many of the women that R. Kelly abused were flown to concerts and different places in order to meet up with him. Therefore, someone else had to purchase the tickets on his behalf. Additionally, there were also people in R. Kelly’s inner circle who would go to different places, including his old high school and help him pick up and lure underage girls. Sadly, throughout the docu-series, you have various people who once worked for R. Kelly admit that they turned a blind eye to what was going on.
Then there are also the record company execs who decided to continue releasing new R. Kelly music and putting money in his pockets during and after the sex tape allegations. This is worth highlighting because it was this money that allowed him to settle out of court with many survivors and also to purchase tickets for them to come to see him. His record label did drop him back in January but I doubt they will face any consequences. In fact, there are countless others who probably played a role in enabling R. Kelly who won't face any legal ramifications.
With all of this in mind, I can't help but wonder what would have happened if everyone had said no? What would have happened if everyone had decided no job was worth helping someone abuse women and girls? We won't ever know the answer to that question. However, prosecutors are apparently also going to go after some of R. Kelly's enablers. It appears that possibly more than "10 Kelly associates, such as agents and security guards, could be exposed to criminal liability in the Chicago case for staying silent about abuse or actively assisting Kelly."
Unbelievably, he still appears to have a crew of people who work for him. After his release, R. Kelly hit up a local McDonald's. In the pictures that were taken, you can see a group of people sitting with him. He also has the support of the woman who allegedly posted his bail and even still has some fans. Hopefully, regardless of those who continue to support R. Kelly, he along with those who enabled him will be put in jail, for it will cause at least some people to think twice before turning a blind eye to the abuse of another. Who else do you think also needs to be held accountable? Let us know in the comments below!