Bench warrant issued for singer R. Kelly

Singer R. Kelly did not show for his first court appearance in Minneapolis today and a bench warrant was issued for him.

Robert Sylvester Kelly was charged last month by the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office with two counts of prostitution.

The hearing before Hennepin County District Court Judge Jay Quam lasted about two minutes Thursday afternoon. Senior Hennepin County Attorney Judith Cole told Judge Quam that no attorney has approached prosecutors to say they represent Kelly, nor has a certificate of representation been filed by any defense attorney.

An assistant U.S. Attorney handling the federal case against Kelly in Illinois informed the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office that they would not allow county prosecutors access to Kelly until his federal case is finished, Cole told the court. The county attorney’s office is cooperating with the federal prosecutors.

Cole then requested that a bench warrant be issued for Kelly and Judge Quam agreed to issue the warrant.

According to the criminal complaint, the woman contacted police in January to report an incident that occurred the day of Kelly’s concert on July 11, 2001. She was 17 at the time.
The day of the concert, Kelly invited her to his downtown Minneapolis hotel, the complaint states.

When she entered the hotel, a man who appeared to be a staff member of Kelly’s, brought her to the entertainer’s suite. A short time later, Kelly entered the room and they engaged in some small talk. Then Kelly gave her $200 to dance. He helped take off her clothes and then took off his clothes.

As she danced over him in his bed, Kelly touched her all over her body, including her vagina and her breasts. When it was over, Kelly said he would see her again at the concert that night. She was included on Kelly’s guest list and watched the show very close to the stage, according to the complaint. She would not have been able to get into the 18+ concert with a standard ticket.