NEW YORK (AFP) - One of the lawyers representing women who claim they were abused by R&B star R. Kelly said on Sunday (March 10) a new video tape had emerged which showed the singer "sexually abusing children".

Kelly is currently on bail after being accused of sexually abusing four women, including three teenagers, between May 1998 and January 2010.

The latest discovery was announced by lawyer Gloria Allred at a press conference where she said it was found by couple Gary and Sallie Dennis in a box of old VHS cassettes at their home.

The couple did not say how the tape came to be in their possession.

"Prior to learning that such a tape was in their possession, Sallie had viewed the Lifetime documentary called Surviving R. Kelly," said Ms Allred.

"She was emotionally very disturbed by what the women in the documentary alleged had happened.

"Some time after that, Sallie and her husband discovered to their surprise that they had a VHS tape that could be helpful in learning what had happened to these young girls who had come into contact with R. Kelly."

Ms Allred said while she had not viewed a previous tape that had been widely reported in the media, she did not believe it was of the same act.

She added that it showed "what appeared to be R. Kelly sexually abusing children" but declined to go into further detail.

Mr Dennis said he had made the discovery while going through old sports tapes and trying to decide which ones to keep.

The tape is the third to purportedly show Kelly engaging in such acts.

The first two have been reported by Mr Michael Avenatti, a lawyer representing other women involved in the case.

Multiple women have come forward since the airing of the documentary in January to say that the 52-year-old singer had sexual relations with girls under the age of 16, and kept sex slaves.