R. Kelly’s Divorce Case Unsealed Moving Forward; Sex Abuse Lawsuit Default Judgment Vacated
A Cook County judge has ruled to unseal R. Kelly’s divorce case moving forward, and another judge also vacated a default judgment against the troubled singer in his separate sexual abuse lawsuit.
R. Kelly’s divorce case records have been sealed for over a decade, leaving only Kelly, his ex-wife, and their lawyers with access to the records, but Domestic Relations Judge Lori Rosen ruled on Wednesday (May 8) that the entire case would be unsealed going forward, according to CBS Chicago.
However, attorneys will be able to dispute that some documents dating back as far as 2006 should remain sealed.
A few months ago, Kelly spent three nights behind bars for failure to pay over $161,000 in back child support. Kelly’s family and friends pooled money together to pay it, resulting in Kelly eventually being released.
Due to the terms of the “Ignition” singer’s divorce, which took place in 2009, Kelly had been ordered to pay over $20,000 a month in child support. Last year, Kelly ceased making the required payments.
The singer-producer has been attempting to have those payments reduced because he’s currently not working. According to Kelly’s lawyers, a judge refused to modify his payments.
In the Chicago native’s other case, another Cook County judge has vacated a default judgment against the singer and songwriter in a sexual abuse lawsuit filed against Kelly by one of the four women Kelly is accused of assaulting.
Kelly’s attorneys argued that the singer failed to respond to the lawsuit because the singer was served a summons while in jail, and Kelly didn’t understand it because he can’t read.
The woman filed her lawsuit in February, and the singer failed to appear for the case’s hearings, causing Judge Moira Johnson to enter a default judgment, last month.
Johnson vacated her initial judgment ruling today that the lawsuit will be allowed to proceed to trial.
The alleged victim said that when she was 16-years-old Kelly saw her walking down the street and pulled his car over to chat with her. She also stated that an associate of R. Kelly’s met with her family, and since she was “star struck” she agreed to meet Kelly.
The woman filed the lawsuit for at least $50,000 in damages because she claims that Kelly engaged in sexual intercourse and oral sex with her when she was only a minor.
Kelly’s next hearing on the civil lawsuit is scheduled for June 19.
Glennisha Morgan is a Detroit-bred multimedia journalist and writer. She writes about intersectionality, hip-hop, pop culture, queer issues, race, feminism, and her truth. Follow her on Twitter.
