R&B superstar R. Kelly has pleaded not guilty to 10 counts of aggravated criminal sex
The 52-year-old was to be released from custody after spending three nights in jail, during which time his associates and family members gathered the
"He'll be out within an hour," Cook County Sheriff's spokeswoman Sophia Ansari told AFP.
R&B singer R. Kelly appears before Cook County Associate Judge Lawrence Flood with his attorney Steve Greenberg. Source: AP
Hours earlier, Kelly stood in a Chicago courtroom wearing an orange jumpsuit as his lawyer entered a non-guilty plea, three days after the musician turned himself in.
The star's bail had been set at $1 million, of which he was required to pay 10 percent.
His lawyer Steve Greenberg called his client's finances "a mess" - while maintaining the chart-topper's innocence.
"Mr Kelly's done absolutely nothing wrong," he told journalists.
Michael Avenatti - the high-profile lawyer representing at least two of the alleged victims -- said his team had turned over a second, 55-minute-long tape to prosecutors that depicts the artist "engaged in illegal sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl."
"The conduct in the tape can be described as nothing short of outrageous and illegal," the lawyer told reporters.
R Kelly leaves his Chicago studio on his way to surrender to police. Source: AAP
Avenatti earlier this month gave Chicago prosecutors approximately 40 minutes of previously unreleased footage of Kelly allegedly having sex with a young teenager.
He said his team was in the process of obtaining a third tape of a similar nature, and that additional witnesses had come forward over the weekend.
"This reign of abuse and assault by Mr Kelly is about to come to an abrupt and permanent end," Avenatti said.
Kelly - best known for hits such as "I Believe I Can Fly" - is next due in court on March 22.
Checkered past
Known for hits like "I Believe I Can Fly," Kelly surrendered to Chicago police Friday night.
His arrest came after a documentary series renewed attention on decades of accusations against the musician, including child pornography, sex with minors, operating a sex cult and sexual battery.
After a dramatic trial Kelly was acquitted in 2008 of child pornography charges, also in Chicago.
The new 10-count indictment included three minors between 13 and 16 years of age.
Kim Foxx - the state's attorney for Cook County, which includes Chicago - told journalists the alleged crimes occurred between 1998 and 2010. The charges carry three to seven years of prison per count.
Kelly's lawyer Greenberg said the charges were based on old and false accusations, saying "all of the women are lying."
US singer R. Kelly performing during a concert at the Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam, the Netherlands Source: EPA
The artist infamously is known for marrying his protege Aaliyah in 1994, when the late R&B star was 15.
Kelly, then 27, had produced the teenage singer's debut album titled "Age Ain't Nothing But a Number." Their marriage was later annulled, and Aaliyah died in a plane crash in 2001.
But despite the slew of disturbing claims against him, the award-winning musician has continued to perform for years and had maintained a solid fan base.
Last month's release of an explosive docu-series entitled "Surviving R. Kelly" once again brought accusations against him to the fore, however, while a #MuteRKelly movement aimed at preventing his music from airing has
