CHICAGO (AP) - The Latest on the sexual abuse case against R&B singer R. Kelly (all times local):
9:45 a.m.
Singer R. Kelly has pleaded not guilty to 11 additional sex-related felonies during a court hearing in Chicago.
Prosecutors did not ask the judge to raise the bond amount for Kelly during Thursday’s hearing in Cook County court.
Kelly stood and listened to the judge describe the charges in a gray suit, with his hands folded in front of him. When the judged asked if he understood, Kelly, responded, “Yes, sir.”
Among the 11 new counts are four counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, which carries a sentence of up to 30 years in prison. That is more than four times as long as the maximum term for each of the 10 counts Kelly was originally charged with in February.
Kelly has denied any wrongdoing.
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9:35 a.m.
R&B singer R. Kelly is back in a Chicago courtroom, where he is expected to plead not guilty to 11 new sex-related charges against him.
Prosecutors could ask the judge during Thursday’s hearing to raise the bond amount for Kelly, whose financial problems have been widely reported. The Grammy award-winner spent a few days behind bars when he was originally charged in February until a suburban woman posted the 10% of $1 million bond - $100,000 - to secure his release.
Among the 11 new counts against Kelly are four counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, which carries a sentence of up to 30 years in prison. That is more than four times as long as the maximum term for each of the 10 counts Kelly was originally charged with in February.
Kelly has denied any wrongdoing.
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12:05 a.m.
Singer R. Kelly is expected to plead not guilty to 11 new sex-related felonies at his Cook County arraignment.
Thursday’s hearing in Chicago comes a week after prosecutors announced the new counts, including four aggravated criminal sexual assault ones. Each carries a maximum prison term of 30 years.
Kelly pleaded not guilty in February to 10 related counts of aggravated sexual abuse involving three girls and one woman over roughly 10 years starting in the late 1990s.
The judge could revoke his bond and order him jailed pending trial. But legal experts say that’s highly unlikely.
Kelly’s lawyer, Steve Greenberg, has said the accuser in the new charges is one of the four accusers in the February charges. Even with more charges, he has said Kelly still expects to prevail at trial.
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