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R. Kelly’s Bond Set at $1 Million

A judge has set R&B singer R. Kelly’s bond at $1 million, or $250,000 for each of the four cases of criminal sexual abuse leveled against him, according to the Chicago Sun Times.

The singer appeared in court wearing a black hoodie and jeans, the paper said, “and a frown that creased his face.” Kelly stared at the ground in front of him as Assistant State’s Attorney Jennifer Gonzalez read off a proffer of the evidence against him in four separate cases of alleged sexual abuse, which took place between 1998 and 2010. If he posts the bond for his release, Kelly will be ordered to surrender his passport and not to contact anyone under 18. The next court date in the case is scheduled for Monday.

During a press conference following the hearing, Cook County State Attorney Kimberly Fox read off details and graphic descriptions of the charges against the singer, prompting news outlets to cut away from their livestream. Some details are outlined in the criminal complaint released Friday.

The incidents — in which three of the alleged victims were minors — took place between 1998 and 2010. The victims were identified only by their initials in the press conferences and legal documents.

The indictment came just days after sex tape reportedly surfaced featuring Kelly engaging in sexual acts with an underage girl, according to CNN and the New Yorker. A grand jury was reportedly convened in the case in Cook County, Illinois, earlier this week, and TMZ reported early Friday that two women had testified.

Kelly has multiple allegations of sexual misconduct against him dating back 25 years, although he has never been convicted. Most recently, two women came forward in a press conference on Thursday, accusing Kelly of misconduct when they were 16 and 15 years old, respectively.

While the sex tape seems to have driven Friday’s indictment, there’s little question that public sentiment against Kelly grew exponentially after the first airing of “Surviving R. Kelly,” a docuseries that aired on Lifetime in January and recounts the accusations against the singer in harrowing detail (it airs again beginning Feb. 25). Following the release of the series, Foxx urged others with stories about the musician to come forward. In late January, she announced she received 12 responses about Kelly and was evaluating with her office on how to move forward with legal action. In a statement released to Variety on Friday, a rep for the Lifetime network said, “We are proud that Lifetime was able to provide a platform for survivors to be heard.”

Kelly has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

 

Source: Variety:

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