Singer R Kelly Leaves Cook County Jail

R Kelly & Attorney (Chicago Tribune photo)

After three days in custody, R&B superstar R. Kelly walked out of Cook County Jail on Monday evening into a crush of reporters and onlookers — both apparent fans and detractors.

"R. Kelly! R. Kelly!" one young woman screamed as she tried to video-record the singer as he pushed through the crowd and into a waiting black van with tinted windows.

"He's nasty!" another woman yelled. "He's a (expletive) pedophile!"

The Chicago Tribune reports hours earlier, Kelly, clad in a bright orange jail uniform, pleaded not guilty to charges he sexually abused four victims, three of them underage, over a span of a dozen years.

To win his freedom, Kelly needed to post $100,000 — 10 percent of the $1 million bond set by a judge on Saturday. He was unable to come up with the money over the weekend, but court records indicate that on Monday a 47-year-old suburban Romeoville woman posted the bond for Kelly, identifying herself on the bond slip as “a friend” of the singer’s.

Earlier Monday, during his second appearance in the Leighton Criminal Court Building in just three days, Kelly clasped his hands behind his back as his attorney, Steven Greenberg, entered the not guilty plea on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

Kelly, clad in the same bright blue coat he wore when he surrendered to police Friday night, walked out of jail just before 5:30 p.m. with a furrowed brow, greeted by shouts of "Free Kells!"