R Kelly walked out of a Chicago jail Monday after posting $100,000 (Dh367,249) bail that allows him to go free while awaiting trial on charges that he sexually abused four people dating back to 1998, including three underage girls.
Hours earlier, the R‘n’B star pleaded not guilty to the allegations after spending the weekend behind bars. He said little during the brief arraignment, telling the judge only his name. His lawyers spoke on his behalf.
The singer-songwriter was arrested Friday on 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse. A judge set bond at $1 million, meaning Kelly had to post 10 per cent of that amount to be released. Court records show a 47-year-old woman from the Chicago suburb of Romeoville, Illinois, posted the $100,000 bail and identified herself on the bond slip as “a friend” of Kelly, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Kelly will be forbidden from having any contact with females younger than 18.
The black van that took the entertainer away from the jail stopped in the parking lot of a large downtown McDonald’s. He did not immediately emerge, but some members of his entourage stood outside the vehicle and a dark-coloured Mercedes-Benz parked next to it.
The McDonald’s, a popular tourist attraction, was known as Chicago’s Rock ‘n’ Roll McDonald’s before being remodelled and losing its music theme.
The recording artist has been trailed for decades by allegations that he violated underage girls and women and held some as virtual slaves. Kelly has consistently denied any sexual misconduct, and he was acquitted of child pornography charges in 2008.
