Disgraced singer R. Kelly was taken into custody at a Wednesday hearing after failing to comply with a judge’s order to pay over $161,000 in child support. He also is reportedly being investigated in Detroit for having sex with with a 13-year-old in 2001.
According to The Chicago Tribune, Judge Lori Rosen warned Kelly last month that he would face jail time if he did not pay the child support, plus interest. Rosen reportedly found Kelly in contempt and ordered that he be placed into custody, Cook County Chief Policy Officer Cara Smith told the newspaper.
The singer reportedly left “through a different door than he had entered” at his Wednesday hearing, and his hands were reportedly not cuffed, the Associated Press reports. Cook County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Sophia Ansari said Kelly will be transferred to a county jail later Wednesday.
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Kelly’s publicist, Derryll Johnson, told reporters that the singer will remain in custody until he pays back the child support he owes—totaling $161,663, according to the Tribune.
“He can’t pay. As you know, he can’t work… He can’t book shows or anything. There’s been a lot of things going on in Mr. Kelly’s life, lawsuits, all the things that are happening and he just didn’t have the money,” Johnson said. “He didn’t have the $160,000. We tried to work things out, it didn’t work out, and hopefully we’ll get him out by Wednesday of next week.”
Johnson said Kelly was willing to pay $50,000 or $60,000, but the judge would not accept anything less than the full amount.
“In the end, nobody wins. He’s locked up, and Andrea and the kids still don’t have anything,” he said, adding that Kelly felt “depressed, deflated, upset” when he found out he was going to jail yet again.
According to The Blast, Kelly owed the child support to his ex-wife, Andrea Kelly. The singer has three children with Andrea: Jay, Joann, and Robert Kelly Jr.
CBS Chicago reported later Wednesday that Kelly was also under investigation by Detroit police after a new victim claimed she had sex with the singer when she was 13-years-old.
The woman, now 30, reportedly claimed Kelly had sex with her in 2001—once in the hotel, and another time in a Detroit recording studio a few weeks later. She then claimed to have visited Kelly's Atlanta home over a period of four years, where the singer allegedly gave her herpes when she was 17. The local news station reports that the woman no longer lives in Michigan, but detectives plan to fly her in for an interview.
“We are eagerly waiting to speak to the alleged victim,” Detroit Police Chief James Craig reportedly told CBS Chicago.
This comes after Kelly gave an emotional interview with CBS This Morning, ranting and shouting as he claimed that he never had sex with minors or held them against their will.
Two weeks ago, Kelly put up $100,000 to be released from jail after he was indicted on 10 counts of child sexual abuse. Prosecutors claim he abused four individuals—three of whom were underage at the time. A video was also obtained by authorities allegedly showing Kelly performing sex acts with a 14-year-old girl.
The Tribune reports that Kelly’s next court date is March 13.
