Singer R. Kelly, facing sex abuse charges, gets $1 million bail

A US judge set $1 million bail for R&B superstar R. Kelly on Saturday after prosecutors laid out graphic details of charges that he sexually abused four victims, three of them minors.

Kelly, known for hits like “I Believe I Can Fly,” surrendered to police late Friday after decades of allegations of sexual abuse, especially of underage girls, led to the first sexual assault charges against him.

Kelly was acquitted in a child porn trial more than a decade ago, and had maintained a steady fan base and continued to perform.

But his fortunes changed after a docuseries last month led Chicago prosecutors to publicly seek out any potential victims.

A Chicago grand jury on Friday charged him with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse against four females, the youngest 14 years old at the time of the alleged crimes, which spanned between 1998 and 2010.

The charges carry three to seven years of prison per count.

A grave-faced Kelly appeared in a packed courtroom in a black hooded sweatshirt with his hands handcuffed behind his back.

Two women who had previously publicly accused him of abuse came to court to observe the proceedings.

In setting bail, Cook County Judge John Fitzgerald Lyke Jr. ordered Kelly to have no contact with anyone under 18 years old, and to have no contact with any of the alleged victims or witnesses.

The singer also was required to relinquish his passport.

“He´s devastated,” Kelly´s attorney Steve Greenberg said. “Here is someone who at one point was a huge star. Now he is sitting behind bars.”

– Victims said to be 14, 16 –

In the bail hearing, prosecutors offered new details of their case — including a shocking accusation that Kelly met one underage victim while giving autographs during his 2008 trial.

“In the video,” the prosecutor said, “the victim repeatedly, repeatedly, says she is 14 years old.”

In 1998, Kelly allegedly met another girl at a restaurant where she was celebrating her 16th birthday party, invited her to his studio knowing her age, and had sexual interactions with her several times after that, each time giving her an envelope with “a large amount of money,” Foxx said.

“At times, Robert Kelly would spit on her, slap her on her face and choke her,” the prosecution alleged in court.

Illinois outlaws sexual relations with those under 17 when the partner is at least five years older. Kelly is now 52 and was 31 at the time of the earliest alleged abuse.