R. Kelly has been denied bail … again.
The “Ignition” hitmaker has been in jail since he was arrested on alleged sexual abuse charges and denied bail last month in Chicago. After appearing in the Eastern District of New York earlier Friday, Aug. 2, on more charges that include racketeering, kidnapping, forced labor and sexual exploitation of a child, he was denied again.
According to CBS New York, Kelly pleaded not guilty to the charges against him — which accuse him of sexually abusing women and girls — but was ordered by a judge to be held without bail.
The rapper is charged in New York with exploiting five victims, identified only as “Jane Does,” three of whom alleged they were minors at the time.
The case is separate from another ongoing trial in Chicago, where he was arrested last month on charges accusing him of engaging in child pornography and further sexual abuse. And in July, he was taken into custody for a 13-count indictment in the Northern District of Illinois for the enticement of a minor, obstruction of justice, and child pornography charges.
In the New York indictment, Kelly is accused of running a racketeering enterprise comprised of “managers, bodyguards, drivers, personal assistants and runners for the defendant, as well as members of his entourage”, who would allegedly recruit young women for sex with the musician.
Kelly is also accused of filming the sexual activity including that with alleged underage victims, which constitutes child pornography. The star’s not guilty plea follows a previous plea in which he denied 13 alleged sex trafficking charges.
Since being placed in jail, Kelly has been moved to solitary confinement, and his lawyer, Nicole Blank Becker, recently claimed he doesn’t mind being on his own because he feels safer as he’s aware other inmates know he’s been accused of sex crimes involving underage girls.
However, his attorney claimed the “I Believe I Can Fly” hitmaker being in solitary could be problematic because he has no one to lean on for support or help.
