R Kelly out on bail

R & B singer R Kelly, who was indicted on 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse, is out on bail after posting USD 1,00,000 on Monday (local time).

Three out of the four accusers were underage at the time of the alleged crime in which the chart-topping artist has been indicted.

Kelly, also known as the 'King of R & B' has a history of allegations of sexual misconduct which date back to more than 20 years.

CNN reports that Kelly owes more than USD 1,69,000 in unpaid child support to his ex-wife as of February 6 and risked eviction from his Chicago studio last month due to unpaid rent to the tune of USD 1,66,000. He also owes a Georgia-based property management company over USD 31,000 in unpaid rent for two homes in suburban Atlanta.

 

The singer's lawyer, Steve Greenberg, has dismissed the allegations against Kelly, claiming that the accusers are lying.

Kelly's bond was set at USD 1 million by a Chicago judge on Saturday, with USD 2,50,000 for each case.

Lawyer Michael Avenatti had earlier disclosed that he had submitted a 42-minute VHS tape which showed Kelly having sex with a 14-year-old minor girl, to the State Attorney's Office in the run-up to Friday's indictment and subsequent arrest.

Kelly was charged with child pornography in 2000 after a video surfaced that alleged to show him having sex with an underage woman. However, he was cleared off all the charges in 2008 after that woman declined to testify against him.

In 1995, when Kelly was 27 years old, he briefly married the late singer Aaliyah, who was 15 years old at that time. In 'Surviving R. Kelly' (a documentary series in which accusers came forward with allegations of sexual, mental and physical abuse against the singer) an executive who formerly worked with Kelly says he forged Aaliyah's birth date on the marriage license to state that she was 18 and another witness said she saw Kelly and Aaliyah having sex.

Last year, reports of Kelly holding women captive in a "sex cult" were published. Multiple other reports have surfaced over the years.