R. Kelly Loses Sexual Abuse Lawsuit After Not Showing Up In Court
R. Kelly’s publicist later said that the suit “means nothing” to Kelly’s camp.
A judge ruled against R. Kelly this week after the 52-year-old singer failed to respond to a sexual abuse lawsuit or even show up in court.
The ruling came down on Tuesday after Kelly and his civil litigation attorney, Brian Nix, both failed to appear at a hearing in Cook County, Illinois that day, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. By default, the judge ruled in favor of Kelly’s accuser, an unnamed woman who claimed in her lawsuit, filed on Feb. 21, that she met Kelly as a minor in 1998 and that he began a sexual relationship with her that lasted for a year, according to the outlet.
Kelly and his attorney also skipped another hearing the following day, effectively missing out on a chance to have the judge’s ruling reversed, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Attorneys for the woman reportedly say that Kelly has repeatedly skipped summonses in the months since the suit was filed.
The suit sought more than $50,000 in damages from Kelly, but a judge is not scheduled to award any damages until a hearing next month, where she will hear from the plaintiff before making her decision on the final amount, the paper reports.
Kelly was still faces 10 counts of criminal sex abuse, with prosecutors claiming that the controversial singer victimized three underage girls and one adult woman over many years. The civil lawsuit is unrelated to the criminal charges that Kelly is currently facing, but an attorney for the unnamed woman behind the civil suit confirmed to the Chicago Sun-Times that she is one of the alleged victims listed in the criminal complaint against Kelly.
Nix did not respond to the Sun-Times’ request for comment, while Kelly’s publicist, Darrell Johnson, told the paper that they “don’t care” about the suit.
“The lawsuit means nothing to us,” he said.
Kelly’s criminal defense attorney, Steve Greenberg, told the Associated Press that he has no connection to the case, commenting, “I know nothing about it except for what I read in the papers.”
Kelly was acquitted of child pornography charges in 2008, and continues to deny the charges against him. He has entered a not guilty plea in the criminal sex abuse case.