Arrest Warrant Issued for R. Kelly After Singer Fails to Attend Minneapolis Court Hearing
An arrest warrant has been issued for R. Kelly after the singer failed to attend a Minneapolis court hearing on Thursday on charges that he allegedly paid a teenage girl to strip and dance for him in 2001.
The embattled R&B singer, 52, was scheduled to appear in court at 1:30 p.m., although neither he nor an attorney was present, the Star-Tribune reported. According to the newspaper, Kelly is currently in custody in Illinois, where he faces federal child pornography charges.
Hennepin County District Attorney spokesman Chuck Laszewski told USA Today that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois had told the Minneapolis judge that the singer (born Robert Sylvester Kelly) would not be made available for the hearing.
Senior Hennepin County Attorney Judith Cole said neither federal authorities nor Kelly’s lawyers wanted the singer to cross state lines, the Star-Tribune reported.
Laszewski has said the likely result of the warrant is that Kelly will be ordered to appear in Minnesota court following the conclusion his federal case in Illinois, according to the newspaper.
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In August, Kelly was charged with two sex crimes in Minnesota after allegedly paying a teen girl $200 to dance nude back in 2001.
According to the criminal complaint, the girl, who has not been named, first met Kelly when she approached the singer for his autograph outside of a Minneapolis venue. In addition to his signature, the singer allegedly also included a phone number.
After calling the number, the girl was invited to a hotel, where she met with the star and was offered “$200 to dance,” according to the complaint. Kelly then “helped her remove her clothing” and “took off his clothes as well.”
Authorities in Minnesota first became aware of the alleged incident in January, when the woman contacted a law enforcement hotline, according to the criminal complaint.
Kelly is scheduled to face federal sexual assault charges in Chicago in April.
The court date is slated for April 27, and is expected to last for approximately three weeks, ABC7 Chicago previously reported. However, this may be subject to change due to the fact that he has four state and federal cases pending against him, which are awaiting trial dates.
In February, Kelly was hit with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse against four alleged victims, three of which were specially referred to as under the age of 17. He pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.
An arrest warrant was issued for Kelly in February after the first charges were announced, and he surrendered to Chicago police hours later. Three days later, Kelly was released from jail after paying 10 percent of his $1 million bail amount, the Cook County Sheriff confirmed to PEOPLE at the time.
Then in June, he pleaded not guilty to 11 felony sexual abuse counts after he was charged by Cook County prosecutors in Chicago in May. The charges included five counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, and they stemmed from one accuser who claimed Kelly abused her in 2009 and 2010 while she was underage.
In July, the singer was arrested again and indicted on federal charges including child pornography, racketeering and obstruction of justice in both Illinois and New York, indictment documents and his lawyer confirmed. He has remained jailed since after being denied bail.
Kelly, who was also the subject of the bombshell documentary Surviving R. Kelly earlier this year, has maintained his innocence throughout his legal troubles.
