A new videotape that allegedly shows R. Kelly sexually assaulting an underage girl has surfaced, according to CNN and Jim DeRogatis for The New Yorker. CNN reports that the girl in the alleged video “refers to her body parts as 14 years old.” A senior law enforcement official told DeRogatis that the videotape “may soon lead to [Kelly’s] indictment in Illinois.” In addition, according to DeRogatis, “a law enforcement official said that an indictment is pending and Kelly could be arrested soon.”

R. Kelly’s lawyer Steve Greenberg told CNN, “We are unaware of any new information involving Mr. Kelly.... 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.” In a statement sent to Pitchfork, Greenberg added, “Mr. Kelly denies that he has engaged in any illegal conduct, of any kind whatsoever.” In addition, when contacted by Pitchfork, Tandra R. Simonton (Chief Communications Officer at the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in Chicago) said, “We cannot confirm or deny an investigation.”

The lawyer Michael J. Avenatti tweeted in January, “Since April, I have been working on the R. Kelly matter. The results of that work will soon be known. We are going to blow this wide open for the sake of each of his victims and one less pedophile will be free. Count on it.” According to CNN, Avenatti is representing “a whistleblower against Kelly.”

Today (February 14), the lawyer released a statement on Twitter, writing, “Included in the evidence we recently uncovered and recovered is a VHS videotape of Mr. Kelly engaging in multiple sexual assaults of a girl underage. This tape, which is clear, is approximately 45 minutes in length and has never previously been publicly disclosed or, until recently, provided to law enforcement.” Avenatti also wrote that he “provided extensive information, including the videotape” to Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx.

When contacted by Pitchfork, Avenatti said, “As a father to two teenage girls, this work has been especially satisfying. I am confident justice is about to be done.” In addition, he told CNN, “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.”

Pitchfork has contacted R. Kelly’s representatives and Kelly’s lawyer Steve Greenberg.

R. Kelly continues to face allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct, most recently outlined in the Lifetime series “Surviving R. Kelly.” Kelly has continually denied the allegations.

In 2002, Jim DeRogatis (then with the Chicago Sun-Times) anonymously received a video tape that allegedly showed R. Kelly having sex with an underage girl. DeRogatis turned the tape over to the police, and later that year, Kelly was charged with making child pornography. When called to trial, DeRogatis pled the Fifth Amendment. In 2008, Kelly was acquitted on all charges.

In 2017, Jim DeRogatis broke a story for BuzzFeed News in which several women claimed that R. Kelly had manipulated their lives in a “cult.”

Read “The Struggle to Silence R. Kelly” on the Pitch.