LOS ANGELES • It could be "the break that prosecutors have needed for the better part of 20 years", said lawyer Michael Avenatti.
On Thursday, he turned over to the authorities a tape that shows R. Kelly allegedly having sex with a 14-year-old.
Mr Avenatti represents three clients linked to assault allegations against the R&B musician, including a man who said he had worked with Kelly for years and knew the identity of the girl on the tape.
Mr Avenatti said the tape lasts 45 minutes.
CNN, which has viewed it, reported graphic details.
Mr Jim DeRogatis, who has been reporting on allegations against Kelly for years, wrote on Thursday in The New Yorker that the tape could lead to an indictment soon.
Mr DeRogatis was anonymously sent a 27-minute sex tape in 2002 and turned it over to the authorities.
Kelly was charged with child pornography and tried in 2008. Prosecutors alleged that the tape showed him sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. But neither she nor her parents testified, and Kelly was acquitted on all 14 counts.
Recently, he has been under heightened scrutiny following the screening of Surviving R. Kelly, which examined years of allegations against the musician.
The six-part series featured interviews with women. In some cases, they said he held them against their will or initiated sex when they were underage.
WASHINGTON POST
