R. Kelly Pleads Not Guilty to Charges of Sexual Abuse

The charges against R&B star R. Kelly come after a high-profile lawyer said a new tape allegedly showing Kelly engaging in sexual acts with a minor had been handed over to police.

R. Kelly is now behind bars after the singer turned himself in late Friday night.

Kelly, whose full name is Robert Kelly, was charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, according to the Chicago Police Department.

Anthony Guglielmi, spokesman for the Chicago Police Department, tweeted late Friday night that embattled R&B star was fingerprinted, processed and photographed. He remained jailed Monday after his bail was set at $1 million at a hearing Saturday. Thus far, he has been unable to produce the $100,000 cash to bond out. 

Attorney Steve Greenberg defended his client, saying, according to CNN, "I think all the women are lying. Mr. Kelly is strong, he's got a lot of support and he's going to be vindicated on all these charges -- one by one if it has to be."

Greenberg later said he expects his client to bond out Monday evening.

Kelly has repeatedly denied all allegations of sexual misconduct and he pleaded not guilty to the charges he faces on Monday. 

The charges come after attorney Michael Avenatti announced earlier this week that he had sent a videotape to the state attorney's office. Avenatti said the tape showed Kelly engaging in sexual acts with an underage girl.

At the time, Greenberg, wrote in a statement, "I have not been contacted by anyone connected with law enforcement, nor has R. Kelly. Mr. Kelly denies that he has engaged in any illegal conduct of any kind whatsoever."

Kelly will be arraigned on March 8.

The reported charges also come a month after the release of a docu-series, "Surviving R. Kelly," which accused the Grammy Award-winning artist of repeatedly having sex with underage women and being physically and emotionally abusive to many women and young girls.

The documentary focused on the emerging movement #MuteRKelly, a campaign to end Kelly’s musical fame through protests and asking others to boycott his music.

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