Statement of Sonia Ossorio, President of NOW-NYC on the indictment of R. Kelly:

The Cook County State’s Attorney, Kim Foxx, announced today a 10-count indictment of singer R. Kelly on aggravated criminal sexual abuse for alleged sex crimes involving four individuals, three of which were reportedly minors at the time.  

NOW-NY organized an action outside Sony Corp., US headquarters in New York City on January 16, 2019 to call on the entertainment conglomerate and its subsidiary, RCA Records, to sever ties with the musician R. Kelly. Two days later, they did.

In addition to today’s indictment, we are concerned for the safety of Jocelyn Savage, who has been with Kelly in what many describe as isolation. Her contact has been limited to Kelly and the other women he has living with him or at other residences. Ms. Savage’s parents, Timothy and JonJelyn Savage, say they have not seen their daughter, who is now 23 years old, since she was 19. They describe her living condition as a “sexually abusive cult.”

“No one is above the law,” said Sonia Ossorio, President of the National Organization for Women in New York. “For more than two decades Robert Kelly has gotten away with abuse and crimes against young black girls. He hasn’t been held accountable by the law, those he worked with, the music industry and his fans. But that has come to an end. This new indictment ushers in a new era in which we as a society will have to recognize and own up to how we have failed American black girls.”

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