A mural of George Floyd is shown in the intersection of 38th St & Chicago Ave on March 31, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Community members continue preparations during the third day in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is charged with multiple counts of murder in the death of George Floyd. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 01: President Donald Trump's lawyer and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani talks to journalists outside the White House West Wing July 01, 2020 in Washington, DC. Giuliani did an on-camera interview with One America News Network's Chanel Rion before talking to other journalists about Vice President Joe Biden and the news that Russian intelligence may have paid Taliban operatives to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) ORLANDO, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 28: Former President Donald Trump addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference held in the Hyatt Regency on February 28, 2021 in Orlando, Florida. Begun in 1974, CPAC brings together conservative organizations, activists, and world leaders to discuss issues important to them. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Here's what reported grand jury in Trump case may look like NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 09: People walk past the Trump Tower as the impeachment trial of Donald Trump begins in Washington on February 09, 2021 in New York City. After listening to nearly four hours of legal arguments, the Senate has voted on Tuesday to move ahead with the impeachment trial of former President Trump. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Report: US companies may have benefited from forced labor of Uyghurs WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 20: U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the conflict in the Middle East from Cross- Hall of the White House on May 20, 2021 in Washington, DC. Israel and Hamas announced that they would agree to a cease-fire, which will take into effect on Friday, following days of fighting that claimed more than 200 lives. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) SAN JOSE, CA - MAY 26: A view of the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) light-rail yard where a mass shooting occurred on May 26, 2021 in San Jose, California. A VTA employee opened fire at the yard, with preliminary reports indicating nine people dead including the gunman. (Photo by Philip Pacheco/Getty Images) A healthcare worker prepares to administer a Pfizer/BioNTEch coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccine at The Michener Institute, in Toronto, Ontario on December 14, 2020. - Ontario, Canada's most populous province and one of the hardest hit by the pandemic, had 1,940 new cases and 23 deaths on Monday. The province is expected to give its next doses to nursing home workers as a priority, according to media reports. (Photo by CARLOS OSORIO / POOL / AFP) (Photo by CARLOS OSORIO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) 'Never seen levels like this': Union president on airline passenger misconduct Memorial Day weekend will bring rain and cool air for much of the East NEW YORK, NY - JULY 14: Singer R. Kelly attends the Ovadia & Sons front row during New York Fashion Week: Men's S/S 2016 at Skylight Clarkson Sq on July 14, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) (CNN) — A grand jury has been convened in Cook County, Illinois, in connection with new allegations against singer R. Kelly, according to two sources close to the case. This comes on the heels of attorney Michael Avenatti announcing last week that he had handed over to the State’s Attorney’s office a videotape that he says shows Kelly engaging in sex acts with an underage girl. The Cook County State’s Attorney would not confirm the grand jury proceedings or the existence of any new investigation. The office had previously encouraged any alleged victims of R. Kelly to come forward. Steve Greenberg, an attorney for R. Kelly, told CNN on Monday he had not been notified of a grand jury. “No one from law enforcement has contacted me or my client regarding any potential investigation,” Greenberg said. “Certainly they are aware that I am representing him so if there were any reason to speak to him I would suspect they would have reached out to me.” “Grand jury proceedings are, by law, supposed to be secret, so to the extent people are commenting on what may or may not be going on today are possibly violating the law. Still, I can tell you that I am unaware of any proceedings,” Greenberg said. CNN has seen the VHS tape that appears to show Kelly having sex with a girl who refers to her body parts as 14 years old. Avenatti, who is representing a man he calls a whistleblower against Kelly, says he handed the tape to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in Chicago last weekend. “My client knows the identity of the girl and R. Kelly. He identified the two of them on the videotape. He worked for and has known R. Kelly for decades and he met the girl on a number of occasions,” Avenatti said. Greenberg, Kelly’s attorney, told CNN after the tape had been handed over that he was not aware of it. “We are unaware of any new information involving Mr. Kelly,” he told CNN. “We have not been contacted by anyone. We have not been informed about any new information by anyone and we have not been contacted by law enforcement.” Tandra R. Simonton, chief communications officer for the State’s Attorney’s Office would not “confirm or deny an investigation” when the tape was reported last week. What’s on the tape The newly unearthed footage, which lasts 42 minutes and 45 seconds, is clear and explicit. There are two scenes on the video: one apparently in a living room and another in a bedroom. A naked man who appears to be R. Kelly is seen performing multiple sex acts with the girl. She is heard calling him “daddy” multiple times. It is impossible to know her age just from the video. They both refer to her “14-year-old p***y.” Six times the girl refers to her genitalia as 14 years old. At one point, the man asks the girl to urinate. After she does, he urinates on her. What is on the video mirrors some of the alleged acts for which Kelly was arrested for child pornography in 2002, when he was 35, and then acquitted six years later. That case centered on another video involving a man having sex with a girl who prosecutors said was as young as 13 years old, media reports said. Much was made at the trial about the identity of the man on the tape and whether an identifying mole on Kelly was visible on that video. In the new video reviewed by CNN, a small mole can be seen on the man’s back just to the left of his spine. R. Kelly scandal: A timeline Kelly has been associated with claims of sexual misconduct with minors and other crimes for more than two decades. He has been sued by multiple women accusing him of having sex with them when they were underage. He has denied the accusations and all cases, with the exception of the trial where he was acquitted, have been settled out of court. And while he is one of the most successful R&B acts in history, there has been a growing movement against him. Music industry colleagues and former fans backed a #MuteRKelly campaign to stop his music being played. In July 2017, Buzzfeed published an explosive article outlining claims that Kelly was holding a group of adult women against their will as part of what some of their parents say was a “cult.” A group of people cited in the article claimed that their daughters, ages 18 to 31, were a part of an entourage of at least six women attached to Kelly. Joycelyn Savage, one of the young women, denied those claims and asked her parents, via a video shared with TMZ, to stop speaking out about her relationship with Kelly. In January 2019, the release of a docuseries called “Surviving R. Kelly” on Lifetime television helped boost the public campaign against him. In that series women said they were kept in abusive sexual relationships. After the series aired, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx urged potential victims or witnesses to speak to police. At the same time, Kelly’s attorney, Greenberg, told CNN that his client “has done nothing wrong … Someone with an agenda has done a hit piece,” Greenberg said of the docuseries. “(Kelly’s) out in public. He’s not hiding. There’s no secret compound with sex slaves.” CNN’s Lisa Respers France contributed to this story.<doc-sep>R. Kelly's fate is currently in the hands of a grand jury that secretly convened last week, and now there is a real possibility the singer could be indicted on criminal charges. Sources close to the situation confirmed to The Blast a grand jury was convened last week by the Cook County State's Attorney Office in Chicago. We're told the grand jury -- comprised of a group of citizens -- was formed on the heels of attorney Michael Avenatti delivering a videotape allegedly depicting Kelly engaged in sexual activity with an underage girl. Since the airing of the Lifetime docu-series, "Surviving R. Kelly," the public has been demanding charges be brought against him, but officials have yet to formally charge the star as they dealt with the hurdles of locating victims and forming a case. However, one of the powers of the Cook County State's Attorney Office is the ability to assemble a grand jury, which can issue an indictment against a defendant without prosecutors having to present evidence at a preliminary hearing in front of a trial judge and a defense counsel. The grand jury may also summon witnesses as they consider the matter at hand and decide on a possible indictment. Cook County top prosecutor Kim Foxx has been publicly pleading with alleged victims and witnesses to come forward so that she could put a case together against Kelly. Foxx, a sexual assault survivor herself, admitted that the docu-series on the R&B star "sickened me." We're told the grand jury will be presented with the VHS tape which appears to be of Kelly having sex with an underage girl. Avenatti is representing the man, who allegedly worked for Kelly, and claims to know the identity of the girl. In the tape, she allegedly refers to her age as 14-years-old. The walls have been closing in on Kelly for weeks, including a task force raiding his recording studio in Chicago and a criminal investigation launched in Georgia. Kelly has maintained his innocence with statements through his attorney, and also a public birthday party where he proclaimed, "I don't give a f*ck!" Getty<doc-sep>
Photo : Larry Busacca ( Getty Images ) After decades of allegedly terrorizing women and underage girls, it’s looking like the self-proclaimed Pied Piper of R&B will finally pay the piper. CNN reports that a grand jury has been convened in Cook County, Ill., in connection with new allegations leveled against singer R. Kelly—presumably related to a second tape, featuring the “I Wish” crooner engaged in sexual abuse with an underage girl, that was turned over to police on Feb. 14. While the Cook County State’s Attorney office previously encouraged alleged victims of the Chicago native to come forward, it would not confirm the existence of a new investigation or any grand jury proceedings. “Grand jury proceedings are, by law, supposed to be secret, so to the extent people are commenting on what may or may not be going on today are possibly violating the law. Still, I can tell you that I am unaware of any proceedings,” Steve Greenberg, an attorney for R. Kelly, told CNN. “No one from law enforcement has contacted me or my client regarding any potential investigation,” he continued. “Certainly they are aware that I am representing him so if there were any reason to speak to him I would suspect they would have reached out to me.” According to CNN, the second tape—which they viewed—shows the embattled singer having sex with a girl who refers to her body parts as 14 years old. However, it’s celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti who turned the tape in to police last weekend, as he’s representing a “whistleblower” against Kelly. “My client knows the identity of the girl and R. Kelly. He identified the two of them on the videotape. He worked for and has known R. Kelly for decades and he met the girl on a number of occasions,” Avenatti said. However, Kelly’s legal team claims they are unaware of any “new information involving Mr. Kelly,” Greenberg told CNN. “We have not been contacted by anyone. We have not been informed about any new information by anyone and we have not been contacted by law enforcement.” Meanwhile, Tandra R. Simonton, the chief communications officer for the State’s Attorney’s Office, would not “confirm or deny” any investigation when the tape was first reported last week. As for the details of the “clear and explicit” tape itself, CNN describes it is 42 minutes and 45 seconds in length. There are two scenes on the video: one apparently in a living room and another in a bedroom. A naked man who appears to be R. Kelly is seen performing multiple sex acts with the girl. She is heard calling him “daddy” multiple times. It is impossible to know her age just from the video. They both refer to her “14-year-old p***y.” Six times the girl refers to her genitalia as 14 years old. At one point, the man asks the girl to urinate. After she does, he urinates on her. If this sounds familiar, it’s because it mirrors many of the alleged acts that lead to the then 35-year-old singer’s arrest for child pornography in 2002, only to be acquitted of all charges six years later. But hopefully, as the walls continue to close in on the Chicago native in the aftermath of Lifetime’s harrowing Surviving R. Kelly docuseries, he’ll finally be brought to justice.