R. Kelly denied bail

Singer and songwriter R. Kelly has been denied bail and remains behind bars after a judge ruled that he still posed a danger to young girls should he be set free.

Kelly appeared in court on Tuesday for his bail hearing. He is set to stand trial on charges including sex trafficking, obstruction of justice, and racketeering.

He was arrested on 18 charges including child pornography last week, the New York Times reported. The Citizen earlier reported that his alleged “sex slaves”, Joycelyn Savage and Azriel Clary, were in court to present a united front in support of Kelly during the hearing, according to Gloria Schmidt, the women’s attorney.

Kelly has been dogged for years by allegations that he sexually abused women and underage girls. He and his attorneys have repeatedly denied allegations of sexual misconduct.

Meanwhile, celebrity attorney Michael Avenatti said on Monday that Kelly paid $2 million (R28 million) to keep the alleged victim in a child pornography case off the witness stand during a 2008 trial that ended with his acquittal on all charges.

“R. Kelly bought his acquittal,” Avenatti said at a news conference in which he provided details of what he said had been a years long effort by Kelly to prevent his sexual abuse of several girls from becoming public. He said Kelly paid at least one associate $100,000 (R1.4 million) to hunt down videos of him having sex with a minor that had gone missing.

(Compiled by Gopolang Moloko)

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