Cook County Sheriff’s Office/Getty Images
R. Kelly Released From Jail After Paying $161,633 in Back Child Support to Ex-Wife
He’s a free man once again. R&B star R. Kelly was released from jail on Saturday, March 9, Cook County Sheriff’s Office confirmed in a statement to In Touch. The disgraced singer, 52, spent three days in jail for failure to pay more than $100,000 in child support to his ex-wife Andrea Kelly.
“He was released today after the full amount $161,633 was posted,” Cook County Sheriff Press Secretary Sophia Ansari said in a statement.
The “Ignition” singer (real name Robert Kelly) was taken into custody on March 6 after failing to pay $161,633 in overdue child support payments to his ex-wife for their three children — Joann, 21, Jaya, 19 and Robert, 17. Joe Ryan, the spokesman for the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, previously told In Touch that deputies arrested him shortly after his custody hearing earlier that afternoon. “He will be transferred to jail at some point today,” Ryan told In Touch following the arrest.
Andrea and R. Kelly finalized their divorce in 2009, and since then, she has been very vocal about the alleged abuse she suffered from Robert during their marriage. Most recently, Andrea recounted her story in Lifetime’s Surviving R. Kelly documentary that aired in January.
“You don’t even believe in your own sense of judgement after a while and you’re trying to figure out, ‘How do I get him back to the good space. OK, I’ll take responsibility for it, I’ll just say it’s my fault, I’ll say yes to whatever it is, I’ll apologize because if I could just get him back to [being] the good guy, the one that I fell in love with, then I’m in a good space,” she said in her interview on the documentary.
This is just the latest in R. Kelly’s legal issues. On February 22, the “I Believe I Can Fly” singer was arrested and charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse against four victims — three of which were minors. After posting his $1 million bond, R. Kelly was released from jail four days later. His attorney pleaded not guilty on his behalf and he is currently awaiting trial.
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