R. Kelly is due in court on Saturday for a bond hearing following his arrest on 10 aggravated criminal sexual abuse charges Friday night. The troubled 52-year-old R&B singer turned himself in to Chicago police after a no-bond warrant was signed by a judge on Friday.
The latest charges come more than a decade after he was acquitted on 13 counts of child porn related to a video that allegedly showed him having sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl in 2008.
Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx announced the charges at a news conference on Friday. The indictment indicated there are four female victims. Three victims are under the age of 17.
In the case of the victim whose age is not given, Kelly is accused of sexual contact by use of force or the threat of force.
Kelly’s defense attorney Steve Greenberg said Kelly was a “sacrificial lamb, there is no merit to this.”
Greenberg said he expected Kelly to appear in court and post bond on Saturday. He said Kelly will ultimately be acquitted “because he didn’t do anything.”
When a reporter asked Greenberg if he thought Kelly’s accusers were lying, he replied, “Yes.”
“All of them?” the reporter asked.
“I think all the women are lying, yes,” Greenberg said.
Kelly faces a maximum of seven years in prison or probation if convicted on all charges.
In unrelated news, Kelly was ordered by a judge to pay more than $190,000 in child support to his ex-wife, Drea Kelly.
According to documents obtained by TMZ, the disgraced singer was found in contempt of court by a Cook County judge in Chicago, Illinois, because he allegedly owes Drea $169,996.
With interest, education and health costs added for the three children that the former couple share, the amount has increased to a whopping $194,045.
The “I Believe I Can Fly” singer was supposed to pay Drea $20,833 per month from January 2009, but he hasn’t paid for more than a year.
The court order states Kelly needs to pay up by 6 March, or he’ll be locked up in County Jail.
Photos by Scott Olson/Getty Images, Chicago Police Dept.
