R&B singer R Kelly has appeared in court in Chicago where a judge has set bail at one million dollars (£766,000).

The judge at Saturday's hearing, Cook County Judge John Fitzgerald Lyke Jr, is the same judge who presided over Empire actor Jussie Smollett's bail hearing earlier this week.

Kelly was charged on Friday with 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse involving four female victims, including three who were between the ages of 13 and 17 at the time.

Cook County state's attorney Kim Foxx says the alleged abuse dated back as far as 1998 and spanned more than a decade.

Kelly was tried and acquitted of child pornography charges in 2008 and has consistently denied any sexual misconduct.

The 52-year-old Grammy winner's lawyer Steve Greenberg said Friday that he was confident Kelly would be vindicated.

Kelly has been dogged for decades by allegations that he violated underage girls and women and held some as virtual slaves.

After the hearing, Greenberg told reporters that he thought all four of the accusers were lying.

"He did not force anyone to have sex. He's a rock star. He doesn't have to have non-consensual sex," Greenberg said.