R. Kelly pleads not guilty to sexual abuse charges

R. Kelly pleaded not guilty to 10 counts of sexual abuse on Monday, The Associated Press reports.

The R&B singer has faced dozens of escalating allegations of sexual abuse spanning decades, and was arrested Friday on 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse. He was reportedly unable to pay $100,000 of his $1 million bond, and thus will remain in a Chicago jail aside from appearances in a Cook County courtroom. His attorney, Steve Greenberg, said Kelly's "confidants" are working to pay his bail to free him as he awaits trial.

Charges against Kelly include allegations of abuse against three minors between the ages of 13 and 16 and one adult woman; he has denied all accusations. His attorney entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf.

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A disturbing BuzzFeed News report brought allegations of Kelly's controlling cult into the public eye in 2017. Those stories continued in the Lifetime documentary Surviving R. Kelly late last year, in which women and their families detailed imprisonment, brainwashing, and abuse in Kelly's home. Multiple states and cities soon launched investigations into Kelly, with Chicago charging him with 10 counts of criminal sexual abuse.

Attorney Michael Avenatti said he recently gave a video to state prosecutors that allegedly shows Kelly assaulting a minor. CNN has seen the tape and says it "appears to show Kelly having sex with a girl who refers to her body parts as 14 years old."