The rap star was arrested by police outside a Miami hotel and taken into custody for three hours for questioning.

Mr Kelly, whose first name in Robert, is already facing 21 charges relating to producing child pornography and appearing in a video having sex with an underage girl.

The 36-year-old Grammy winner has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The latest arrest was made on a warrant from Polk County, Florida, where investigators said they had found digital images during a search of Kelly's rented home when he was arrested in June 2002.

R Kelly sang I Believe I Can Fly

It is not known whether the pictures feature the same girl who was on the videotape.

He has now been charged with a further 12 counts of possession of child pornography, with bail set at $12,000 (£7,410)

Facing jail

A spokesman for Mr Kelly said: "At this point, it looks to us like a classic case of piling on, in which a local jurisdiction tries to make headlines by attaching itself to a celebrity case.

"As far as we can tell, the charges all relate to R Kelly's arrest last summer. In other words, there is nothing new here."

If found guilty, Mr Kelly could face up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000 (£68,500).

The R&B star has been ordered to avoid contact with children he is not related to and to check in with police once a week.

He has been hit with a string of legal cases from women who say the star had sex with them when they were below the legal age of consent.