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R. Kelly arrested in Chicago on federal charges including child pornography, racketeering in 2 indictments

Singer R. Kelly is in custody in Chicago on federal sex crime charges and federal agents conducted a search of his Trump Tower residence.

Kelly was out walking his dog Thursday when he was arrested by Homeland Security agents and New York Police Department detectives in Chicago on two separate indictments. The singer is being held by federal authorities at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago and is expected in federal court Friday.

A federal grand jury handed down a 13 count indictment in the Northern District of Illinois Thursday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago. The R&B singer has been charged with child pornography, enticement of a child and obstruction of justice.

Kelly also faces racketeering charges as apart of a separate five-count indictment out of the Eastern District of New York. Friday morning, federal agents were conducting a search in the singer’s residence in Trump Tower in Chicago, ABC News reports.

The Chicago native is already facing sexual abuse charges brought by Illinois prosecutors. The 52-year-old was taken into custody back in February, accused of sexually abusing three girls and a woman in Illinois.

Last May, Cook County prosecutors added 11 more sex-related counts. Kelly has maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty to the Illinois charges.

His publicist said a news conference is planned for Friday morning in Atlanta to discuss the new charges. Kelly’s attorneys have not commented on the latest round of charges.

It was also not immediately clear if any of the federal charges were related to any previous sex-related felony charges that have been leveled against the singer.

Celebrity attorney Michael Avenatti, who has been representing some of the alleged victims in this case, announced over Twitter that he’s planning to do the same on Monday morning.

R Kelly is expected to appear in federal court in Chicago and prosecutors in Brooklyn are expected to unveil a separate indictment, The New York Times reports.

This article originally appeared in ABC7 News.

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