R. Kelly Allegedly Ignored One Of His Sexual Assault Accuser's Lawsuits Because He Can't Read
R. Kelly has found himself back to back in court for 2019, and for his most recent case, a representative for the singer has explained to a judge that Kelly failed to respond to a lawsuit brought on by one of his accusers for something that’s haunted him since his youth: his illiteracy.
As reported by CBS News at Kelly's first hearing on Wednesday (May 8) for the sexual assault case, a lawyer for the singer claims he was unable to respond to a lawsuit from one of his four accusers because the singer is illiterate. According to his attorney, the 52-year-old artist was in jail when he was served with the lawsuit documents, and that Kelly didn't respond because he was unable to read or comprehend the paperwork.
This resulted in Judge Moira Johnson vacating a default judgment made against the 52-year-old artist and reinstating the lawsuit.
At a follow-up hearing that same day, pertaining to Kelly's ongoing child support case filed by ex-wife Andrea Lee, Kelly coughed up $62,000 in back child support. The payment comes just a few weeks after a judge ordered Kelly to jail after finding him in contempt of court for failure to pay $161,000 in back child support. The embattled Chicago singer spent a total of three days locked up before being bailed out by an anonymous source.
Lee, who has three children by the singer, spoke about her victory at a post-court press conference.
"All I can say is, this is a victory for my children. I'm a mother who stands at the [gap] for my children, and he has shared responsibility to take care of his children and I will fight for my children until the end."
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R. Kelly still owes his former spouse $32,000 in interest after the payment as well. She is also requesting for educational support for their 21-year-old daughter, Joann, who also identifies as Buku Abi.
Kelly's lawyer, Lisa Damico, told reporters, “He’s not a deadbeat dad. All he wants to do is do right by his kids."
