R. Kelly pleaded not guilty Monday morning to all 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse the singer is facing.
At a hearing at a Chicago courthouse, Judge Lawrence Flood was assigned the Kelly case; over the weekend, following Kelly’s arrest, there was speculation that Judge Vincent Gaughan, who presided over the singer’s 2008 trial, would again oversee the latest charges against Kelly.
Kelly, wearing an orange jumpsuit after spending three nights in a Cook County prison, was then arraigned on the 10 counts in four separate indictments – one for each victim, three of whom were allegedly underage at the time of the incidents – with the singer’s lawyer pleading not guilty on all counts on behalf of the singer.
Judge Flood kept Kelly’s bail at $1 million, with $100,000 needed in order to bond out; the judge also clarified that the singer’s outstanding child support payments of more than $160,000 would not need to be paid in order for release. Kelly’s next hearing is set for March 22nd. Before that, Kelly will be back in court March 6th for a hearing related to the child support payments.
It remains unclear when Kelly will bond out. Over the weekend, his lawyer Steven Greenberg said Kelly’s finances were a “mess” due to the loss of tour dates and his record contract.
Prior to Kelly’s arraignment Monday, lawyer Michael Avenatti, who provided authorities with a previously unseen sex tape allegedly showing Kelly with an underage girl, announced on Twitter that he was possession of a second tape with the same female, initialed “R.L.” in the prosecution’s charges. TMZ also reported that Avenatti was in the process of procuring a third Kelly sex tape, this time with a different underage girl. Rolling Stone has not independently confirmed the existence of a third tape.
This story is developing