R. Kelly pled not guilty to a 13-count indictment today in US District Court in Chicago. The singer is facing charges related to child pornography, attempts to engage minors in sexual activity, and obstruction of justice.
As Rolling Stone reports, Kelly appeared before Judge Harry D. Leinenweber, who denied his petition for bond and remanded him to custody. Prosecutors described Kelly as "an extreme danger to the community, especially to minor girls." Meanwhile Kelly's lawyer Steve Greenberg repeated a line from February asserting Kelly is not a flight risk: "Unlike his most famous song, 'I Believe I Can Fly,' Mr. Kelly doesn't like to fly."
According to federal indictments unsealed last week, Kelly allegedly engaged in sexual acts with five girls under the age of 18 and filmed explicit videos with four of them. The filings also allege Kelly and his former manager Darrell McDavidpaid hundreds of thousands of dollars to retrieve the videos. A separate indictment in the Eastern District of New York charges Kelly with racketeering related to recruiting girls and women for illegal sexual activity across multiple states.
