Touring bus delay lands Kelly in big trouble

The 5-year-old pornography case against R&B superstar R. Kelly took a new twist yesterday when a judge entered a warrant for the Chicago rapper and then put it on hold, after Kelly missed a court date in his child porn case on Wednesday.

Kelly was due to appear in Chicago court at 9:30 A.M. on Wednesday for hearing, but the singer missed his court appearance, forcing Judge Vincent Gaughan issue a warrant on his name.

However, the judge gave the singer time until Thursday at 9 a.m. to be in a court in Cook County, Illinois. If by that time he fails to appear in court, the warrant will go into effect, and could face arrest over alleged child pornography charges.

According to Kelly’s attorney Edward Genson, what prevented the musician from appearing in Chicago court was his touring bus, which was stopped by police in Utah because a log showed the driver hadn't had enough rest.

Utah State Police demanded the bust to stop for eight hours at a motel, as the driver couldn’t present log entries to prove he had had sufficient sleep.

Kelly, the 40-year-old singer-songwriter, who has sold 37 million albums, is in the midst of a prolonged legal battle over child pornography charges after prosecutors said he allegedly videotaping sex acts with a young teenager.

Kelly was charged with 21 counts of child pornography in June 2002 after a 26-minute videotape surfaced showing him having sex with and urinating on a girl, who according to the prosecutors was 14 years old at the time.

Seven of the charges have since been dropped. Kelly has pleaded not guilty to 14 counts of child pornography. If convicted, he could be sentenced up to 15 years in prison and fined up to US$100,000.

This is not the first time Kelly is facing child porn accusations. Before this, the singer faced several allegations of sexual relations with minors. He settled with two women who filed suits against him in 1996 and in 2001.

Born on January 8, 1967 in Chicago, Illinois, Kelly is an American urban R&B singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and occasional rapper. His songs often include explicit sexual references, such as "Bump N' Grind", "Feelin' on Yo Booty", and "Ignition (Remix).”

His hits include "I Believe I Can Fly", "If I Could Turn Back The Hands Of Time", "I Wish", "Rise Up", "Step in the Name of Love (Remix)" and the Grammy-nominated duet with Céline Dion "I'm Your Angel".

In 1994, rumors surfaced that Kelly had tied knot with fellow singer Alex Shipton, which both singers had denied. In 1995, another rumor surfaced that 15-year-old Aaliyah and 27-year-old Kelly had secretly married. Both of them initially denied the rumor, but VIBE magazine published a copy of their marriage license, which showed that Aaliyah's age had been falsely listed as 18. The marriage was declared invalid a few months later.