“R. Kelly spoke out, asking, ‘Why is Sean Diddy after my life? I haven’t done anything to him, so why am I being investigated in another criminal case?’ He questioned why Diddy is allegedly trying to send him back to jail.”

Why After My life “R. Kelly spoke out, saying, ‘I didn’t do anything to Sean Diddy, so why am I being investigated in another criminal case?’ He questioned why Diddy is allegedly trying to send him back to jail.”

Some of the similarities in the cases brought against Sean “Diddy” Combs this week and Robert Sylvester Kelly several years ago are evident at a glance: Both are world famous, powerful and influential musicians who were accused of sex crimes by federal prosecutors in New York City.

But Combs’ case echoes R. Kelly’s in another way: In each, prosecutors relied on a novel use of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, to indict them on allegations of using that power and fame to wield the resources, businesses and people who answered to them to commit crimes – and attempt to cover them up

There are certainly parallels in these cases,” said Nadia Shihata, the former federal prosecutor who tried the 2021 case against Kelly in the Eastern District of New York, one of two that sealed the R&B singer’s downfall.

“Obviously the conduct in each case is somewhat different. But there is this idea of a superstar using the employees and entourage at his disposal to facilitate really serious sexual violence crimes,” she told CNN, “and to use coercion and control of victims to coerce them into engaging in sexual activity that they otherwise would not have.”.

Combs, meanwhile, was indicted in the Southern District of New York on three counts: racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty and faces up to life in prison if convicted.

A key distinction between the two is the cases against Kelly involved victims who were underage, whereas Combs has not been accused of wrongdoing against minors – and it’s possible that will evolve into a defense strategy, experts said, wherein Combs’ attorneys argue his purported victims were willing participants.

Regardless, the charges against Combs are “very, very serious charges,” said civil rights attorney and CNN Legal Analyst Areva Martin, which have “an eerie similarity” to those against Kelly in New York – “another music icon, who is now serving a 30-year prison term for very similar allegations that were filed against him in New York and then an ultimate conviction at trial.”