R. Kelly has pled not guilty to 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in Cook County, Illinois, according to The Associated Press. Kelly, whose bond was set at $1 million, is currently in jail after turning himself in to authorities on Friday night, February 22. According to CNN, associates of Kelly are trying to come up with the $100,000 required to pay Kelly’s bail for the singer to leave police custody. Kelly is due back in court on Friday, March 22, according to The AP.
Along with the criminal charges, R. Kelly is facing a new lawsuit in Cook County, TMZ reports and Pitchfork can confirm. According to TMZ, a woman named Heather Williams claims Kelly sexually abused her in 1998 when she was 16 years old. Williams is seeking at least $50,000, according to Cook County records viewed by Pitchfork. Pitchfork has contacted R. Kelly’s attorney Steve Greenberg, as well as attorneys for Heather Williams.
Last week, R. Kelly was charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. The charges involve four underage girls who prosecutors say Kelly abused during the period of 1998 to 2010. The next day, the presiding judge John Lyke Jr. set Kelly’s bond at $1 million, ordered Kelly to surrender his passport, and also barred him from contacting minors.
On February 14, it was reported that a new videotape had emerged that allegedly shows R. Kelly sexually assaulting an underage girl. The tape was provided to CNN and Cook County prosecutors by lawyer Michael J. Avenatti. At the time, The New Yorker reported that the tape could lead to an indictment for Kelly.
In January, Lifetime aired the documentary series “Surviving R. Kelly.” Later that month, R. Kelly parted ways with longtime label RCA Records, a subsidiary of Sony Music, after sustained protests against the label for its involvement with the singer.
R. Kelly has continued to deny allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct. His lawyer Steve Greenberg recently called Kelly “an innocent man” and stated, “He’s got a lot of support and he’s going to be vindicated on all these charges.”
Read “The Struggle to Silence R. Kelly” on the Pitch.
