R. Kelly accuser will detail alleged sex abuse in court after singer loses lawsuit
One of R. Kelly’s accusers has won a default judgement against him.
The plaintiff, who is one of the four victims in a separate criminal complaint filed against the singer in February, filed a civil lawsuit that same month. She claimed that, as a 16-year-old in 1998, the "Bump N' Grind" singer approached her on a Chicago street and talked to her about being in a video he was making. Sexual abuse started within a month and continued for a year, the complaint alleges, and she is seeking more than $50,000 in damages.
Cook County Judge Moira S. Johnson issued the default judgement Tuesday after Kelly failed to respond to the lawsuit. In court, the plaintiff's attorneys said Kelly has ignored the court summonses since the lawsuit was filed on Feb. 21. (He was served while being held in county jail over his failure to pay the $161,633 he owed his ex-wife.) Neither Kelly nor his civil litigation attorney, Brian Nix, were in court when the judge ruled, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Kelly and his attorneys also skipped a court appearance for the case on Wednesday. Had they shown up, the judge could have vacated her ruling.
No damages have been awarded in the case yet. A hearing will take place next month in which the plaintiff will describe the alleged abuse before Johnson determines how much Kelly should have to pay.
The woman is one of the four victims listed in the criminal complaint filed against Kelly in February. He is charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. In the criminal court documents, the woman is identified by her initials: H.W.
Kelly’s attorney for the civil case, Nix, hasn’t commented. However, Kelly’s publicist, Darrell Johnson, told the Sun-Times: “We don’t care about the lawsuit. The lawsuit means nothing to us.”
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