R. Kelly's Bus-Stop Blues
R. Kelly has been given a deadline to show his face in court—or else.
The singer missed a court date Wednesday in his child-pornography case after his tour bus was stopped by police in Utah on its way to Chicago from Sacramento.
Prosecutors urged Judge Vincent Gaughan to issue a warrant for Kelly's arrest, saying the judge had already showed leniency in allowing Kelly to embark on his tour at all.
"It is an abuse of the process and disrespectful of the court and your honor for everyone who has come prepared to go," said Assistant State's Attorney Shauna Boliker. "The very least he could do is be here for his appointed court date."
Accordingly, Gaughan entered a warrant for the R&B star's arrest, but put it on hold until 9 a.m. Thursday morning, when he ordered Kelly to appear in court.
Kelly's attorney, Ed Genson, told the judge his client had made every effort to get to the hearing on time, but his bus was waylaid first by snow and then by Utah's finest.
Police initially pulled the bus over to inspect its logbook and subsequently ordered it to stop for eight hours after discovering the driver had not taken sufficient rest time, Genson said.
Once Kelly graces the courtroom with his presence, the judge is expected to set a trial date in the case, which has been pending since 2002.
Kelly stands accused of videotaping himself having sex with an underage girl who prosecutors claim was only 13 or 14 at the time.
He has denied the allegations against him. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years behind bars.
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