R. Kelly a no-show in Minnesota court on solicitation charge
R. Kelly was a no-show for an initial court appearance in a Minnesota case in which he is accused of offering a 17-year-old girl $200 to take off her clothes and dance in 2001. Kelly, who is jailed in Chicago on sexual abuse and other counts, was charged in Minnesota in August with soliciting the girl after meeting her before a concert in Minneapolis.
He was due at Hennepin County Court at 1:30 p.m., according to CBS Minnesota.
Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, faces previously filed federal and state charges in New York and Chicago. Prosecutor Judith Cole told Judge Jay Quam during Thursday's brief hearing that federal authorities in Illinois were "not willing to give us access to him" until his case there is resolved.
The judge then issued a bench warrant as a formality.
Kelly's attorney Steve Greenberg, who didn't attend the hearing and isn't officially registered in the Minnesota case, said they never got notice of it. A spokesman for the county attorney's office said the summons was sent to Kelly's last known address.
The no-show appearance may be exactly what happens to the entire case, CBS Minnesota points out. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said previously he would not be disappointed if this case was never tried in Minnesota, as long as Kelly served time for the alleged crimes he committed elsewhere.
Judge Jay Quam said the arrest warrant he issued for Kelly would be served at a time when Kelly "was able to return to Minnesota to face the charges."
