Hip Hop

R. Kelly Hit With Another Default Judgement In Sexual Assault Case

R. Kelly mug
R. Kelly mugshot

R. Kelly’s legal and financial woes are far from over.

A judge ruled the embattled singer, R. Kelly, defaulted a lawsuit filed by a female name, Heather Williams, who claimed that the singer lured her into sex when she was just 16 years old, PageSix reported. The R&B icon is currently in jail awaiting trial for multiple sexual misconduct related charges, including anus charges of possessing child pornography and sexual exploitation of a minor. He missed some key court dates where he subsequently failed to defend himself against allegations made by plaintiff Heather Williams.

Williams alleges she met the now-disgraced singer on a Chicago street in 1998 and was lured into a sexual relationship at his music studio with the promise of appearing in one of his videos.

R. Kelly interview

Last year, the judge made a default judgment in Williams’ case after R. Kelly and his legal team failed to respond to her case. Kelly’s attorneys then went back to court and successfully convinced the judge to reopen the case. Their excuse was that he is illiterate and thus did not know that he was summons to court.

Kelly’s lawyers then attempted to get the case dismissed on the grounds that the statute of limitations had expired. The motion was denied—the judge stating it was reasonable for Williams to argue that as a minor at the time, she had not realized that the relationship was abusive until years later.

Since then, R. Kelly’s legal team has stepped down from the case entirely. Back in January, Zaid Abdallah, Shady Yassin, and Raed Shalabi – ceased representing Kelly. Now, Judge Moira S. Johnson again granted the default judgment after he was absent from yet another hearing in the case on Tuesday, February 25, after refusing transportation from jail following hernia surgery.

The final hearing for the case will be on March 10, 2020.

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