*After his weekend stay in the Cook County jail, on Monday, singer R. Kelly has pleaded not guilty to charges of him sexually abusing 4 women, including 3 minors.
As we previously reported on Friday, Kelly was charged under a 10-count indictment on aggravated criminal sexual abuse, made his pleas through his attorney at his arraignment hearing before Judge Lawrence Flood at Leighton Criminal Court.
Kelly, who appeared in an orange jumpsuit, had his next court date scheduled for March 22. We assume he will have made bail long before then. In the meantime, he remains jailed in lieu of $1 million bond as he struggles to put up the 10 percent of the total bond required in order to walk free.
As far as the case against him, prosecutors charge that Kelly sexually abused four victims, including three minors between the ages of 13 and 16, in incidents between 1998 and 2010.
Kelly’s lawyer Steve Greenberg has maintained his client’s innocence, saying he believes “all the women are lying.”
“[Kelly] did not force anyone to have sex. He’s a rock star. He doesn’t have to have non-consensual sex,” Greenberg told reporters over the weekend.
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The charges against Kelly come weeks after the six-part Lifetime documentary series “Surviving R. Kelly” showcased old sexual misconduct accusations against the performer.
Meanwhile, lawyer Michael Avenatti, who says he represents two alleged Kelly victims, said Monday that he has obtained a second video that shows the star sexually assaulting a minor and is turning the footage over to Cook County prosecutors.
“I can confirm that we will be providing a second video showing R. Kelly engaged in sexual assault of a minor to prosecutors this morning,” Avenatti tweeted ahead of the court appearance.
“This tape was recently uncovered in connection with our ongoing nationwide investigation on behalf of victims. Justice must be done,” the tweet reads.
According to TMZ, the tape, a 55-minute VHS video, allegedly shows Kelly having sex with the same 14-year-old girl depicted in the first video that Avenatti handed over to authorities.
The first video was shot in 1999, while the second one was in 2000.
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