R Kelly 'extreme danger to minor girls', prosecutors say as singer denied bond

Kelly faces counts ranging from enticing a minor to child pornography and obstruction of justice

R Kelly leaves the Leighton Criminal Courts Building following a hearing on 26 June, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

R Kelly has been held at a Chicago jail without bond over federal charges that he ran a racketeering scheme trafficking women and girls for sex.

US District Judge Harry Leinenweber handed down the ruling on Tuesday in Chicago, where Kelly was arrested last week.

Kelly, wearing an orange jumpsuit and shackled at the ankles, did not speak except to say "yes sir" when the judge asked if he understood the charges. His attorney, Steve Greenberg, submitted a not guilty plea.

Prosecutors asked a judge to keep the singer in custody, calling him an "extreme danger to the community, especially to minor girls", according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

In indictments unsealed in Brooklyn, New York, and Chicago on Friday, prosecutors alleged that Kelly, 52, forcibly kept people under his control and then intimidated witnesses and bought their silence.

Kelly, already charged with sexual assault in Illinois, was taken into custody by New York City police detectives and federal agents on Thursday in Chicago.

He faces counts ranging from enticing a minor to child pornography and obstruction of justice.

Kelly's lawyer Steve Greenberg in a statement on Friday said charges stem mostly from "decades-old" conduct and were already part of the Illinois case or previous allegations of which Kelly was acquitted.

Additional reporting by agencies