R Kelly surrender to Chicago police over sexual abuse charges

Singer R Kelly has turned himself over to authorities after being charged with 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse involving four victims, including a 13-year-old.

Kelly, 52, was charged in Cook County, Illinois, and turned himself to the police in Chicago on Friday evening, being driven to a police station in a dark colored van with heavily tinted rear windows.

He did not respond to questions from gathered reporters as he walked inside the building.

Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi tweeted a short time later that Kelly was under arrest.

He is expected to be held overnight before an appearance in bond court on Saturday.

In a press conference early on Friday, Chicago prosecutor Kimberly Foxx outlined the charges against Kelly, saying they involved four victims.

According to records cited by the Chicago Sun-Times, the alleged crimes happened between 1998 and 2010, with three of the four victims being minors aged between 13 and 16.

Each count carries up to seven years in prison.

If Kelly is convicted on all 10 counts, a judge could decide that the sentences run one after the other — making it possible for him to receive up to 70 years behind bars. Probation is also an option under the statute.

Kelly's attorney, Steve Greenberg, told reporters following the singer's arrest that one of the charges he faced appeared to be tied to a decade-old child pornography case.

"Double jeopardy should bar that case," Greenberg said.

Kelly, who was acquitted of the child pornography charge in 2008, has consistently denied any sexual misconduct.

In response to the charges, the producer of Surviving R Kelly took to Twitter to say the survivors of Kelly's alleged abuse "are heroes".

Others acknowledged the efforts of activists who pursued the singer for decades.

Kelly's attorney said earlier this year his client was the victim of a TV hit piece, saying Kelly "never knowingly had sex with an underage woman, he never forced anyone to do anything, he never held anyone captive, he never abused anyone".