Graphic details emerge in claims against R Kelly
A US judge set $1m (R14m) bail for R&B superstar R Kelly on Saturday after prosecutors laid out graphic details of charges that he sexually abused four victims, three of them minors.
Kelly, known for hits like I Believe I Can Fly, surrendered to police late on Friday after decades of allegations of sexual abuse, especially of underage girls, led to the first sexual assault charges against him.
Kelly was acquitted in a child porn trial more than a decade ago, and had maintained a steady fan base and continued to perform.
But his fortunes changed after a docuseries in January led Chicago prosecutors to publicly seek out any potential victims.
A Chicago grand jury on Friday charged him with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse against four females, the youngest 14 at the time of the alleged crimes between 1998 and 2010.
The charges carry three to seven years of prison per count.
A grave-faced Kelly appeared in a packed courtroom in a black hooded sweatshirt with his hands cuffed behind his back.
Two women who had previously publicly accused him of abuse came to court to observe the proceedings.
The judge ordered Kelly to have no contact with anyone under 18 and to have no contact with any of the alleged victims or witnesses.
The singer was also required to relinquish his passport. “He’s devastated,” Kelly’s attorney, Steve Greenberg, said.
“Here is someone who at one point was a huge star.
“Now he is sitting behind bars.”
In the bail hearing, prosecutors offered new details of their case – including a shocking accusation that Kelly met one underage victim while giving autographs during his 2008 trial.
They described a video showing Kelly repeatedly having sex with a 14-year-old, DNA evidence from another victim’s shirt that they said matched Kelly’s and semen from yet another victim’s clothes that preliminary tests showed appeared to be his.