Singer R Kelly has been held in custody on a $US1 million ($1.4 million) bond on charges that he sexually assaulted three teenagers and a woman.
Key points:
- Details of allegations against Mr Kelly going back decades emerged in his first court appearance
- After the hearing Mr Kelly's lawyer said his client was "a rock star. He doesn't need to have non-consensual sex"
- Mr Kelly faces 10 aggravated sexual abuse charges
New details of the case against the Grammy-winning R&B star came to light as he appeared in a Chicago court.
He was not asked to enter a plea at what was purely a bond hearing, although his lawyer Steven Greenberg has described Kelly as "an innocent man".
Prosecutor Jennifer Gonzalez said Mr Kelly met one of the teenage victims during his trial on child pornography charges in 2008, when she sought his autograph after a day in court. She said Mr Kelly repeatedly had sex with the teenager between 2009 and 2010. Mr Kelly was later acquitted of the child porn charges.
He met another victim at her 16th birthday party, Ms Gonzalez said, and had sex with her in the first of many encounters in 1998 after telling her to take a taxi from school to his recording studio.
A third charge is based on a videotape that purportedly shows Mr Kelly and a 14-year-old girl engaged in sexual acts sometime between 1998 and 2001.
The fourth victim was Mr Kelly's hairdresser, then 24, who said he had tried to force her to have oral sex in 2003, according to prosecutors.
Cook County Judge John Lyke, who called the allegations "disturbing," set bail at $US1 million.
The singer appeared in a black hooded sweatshirt and looked down as prosecutors outlined the case against him.
The 52-year-old, whose real name is Robert Kelly, has been charged with 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse.
They came about two months after the Lifetime television network aired a six-hour documentary series, Surviving R Kelly, in which multiple women accused him of sexual misconduct and abuse.
The judge also ordered Mr Kelly not to have contact with anyone under the age of 18 and to surrender his passport.
Each charge carries a maximum of 10 years in prison.
Mr Kelly is due back in court on Monday (local time) when a trial judge is expected to be assigned.
Mr Greenberg expected his client to secure his release sometime over the weekend and described Mr Kelly as devastated, and denied the allegations.
"We haven't seen any evidence, any reason to believe these allegations are credible," Mr Greenberg said.
"He's a rock star. He doesn't need to have non-consensual sex."
Mr Kelly, best known for his hit single I Believe I Can Fly, has for years denied accusations of abuse.
Reuters/ABC
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