R. Kelly pleads not guilty to new sex charges
(Photo credit: Cook County Sheriff’s Office)
CHICAGO - Singer R. Kelly has pleaded not guilty to 11 additional sex-related felonies during a court hearing in Chicago.
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.
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."
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.