R Kelly Charged

R. Kelly has been charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. According to Rap-Up, prosecutors charged the singer in Cook County, Illinois on Friday morning (February 22nd) after a grand jury reviewed the alleged sex tape that attorney Michael Avenatti handed over to authorities.

Two women testified for the grand jury over the last week, and one woman provided physical evidence. The site reports that nine of the 10 counts involve alleged victims ranging from 13 to 16 years old. There are a total of four alleged victims.

Kelly surrendered to police Friday night and appeared in court on Saturday afternoon (February 23rd). Police spokesman, Anthony Guglielmi, tweeted, “Singer/songwriter Robert Kelly (R. Kelly) is under arrest and in #ChicagoPolice custody.” The singer arrived at the police station just after 8 p.m. He was led away in handcuffs by officers.

The judge set Kelly’s bond at $1 million. The terms of the bond is that he must surrender his passport and cannot have contact with anyone under 18. He must also put forth $100,000 to make bail. However, the singer remains behind bars after turning himself in because he failed to pay the $100,000 needed to bond out. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, his attorney said that Kelly’s finances were “a mess.” The attorney continued, “He’s trying to get it together.” Greenberg said that Kelly has struggled financially since his record label dropped him. He went on to say, “He’s trying to get it together … he doesn’t have it sitting in the bank, sitting in a shoe box, sitting anywhere. This is someone who should be wealthy. I don’t even think he owns the rights to ‘I Believe I Can Fly.’”

Kelly faces a maximum of 70 years in prison, if convicted. An arraignment is set for March 8th.

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Kelly’s attorney, Steve Greenberg, has spoken on if he thinks the singer’s accusers are lying. He said, “I think all the women are lying, yes. This has become, ‘Hey … I can say R. Kelly did something, boom.”

MORE ON R. KELLY . . .

TMZ also reported that Kelly owes $169,996 in back child support. A Cook County judge ruled that if he does not pay the amount by March 6th, he will be thrown in jail.

In other news, according to Complex, reporter Will Lee said that a Chicago court clerk’s office claimed to have received multiple calls from female fans inquiring about how they can post R. Kelly’s bond. Lee tweeted on Sunday (February 24th), “A court clerk just told me their office was receiving calls from female #RKelly fans wanting to know how to post bail for him. The love is real, I guess.”