R Kelly faces touring ban and jail time

R Kelly narrowly avoided arrest today (December 20) when he showed up to a court appearance in Chicago.

The R & B singer yesterday missed a scheduled court date, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. The warrant was put on hold until this morning to give Kelly the chance to show up.

During this morning’s hearing, Judge Vincent Gaughan told Kelly “I’m very disappointed”. Kelly had been given leeway to tour the US by the court, an opportunity that should not be taken for granted according to the Judge.

“I’m telling you these are extraordinary matters to have this break given to yourself, and then nobody shows up except your attorneys”, he said.

Another hearing tomorrow will decide if Kelly’s bail should be revoked, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

A date for his trial will also be set tomorrow. He is charged with child pornography for video taping himself having sex with an underage girl, thought to be 13 or 14 years old. The case has taken almost six years to come to trial.

Kelly blamed Wednesday's missed court appearance on snow and a delay after police stopped his tour bus in Utah and a log showed the driver had not had sufficient rest.

--By our New York staff.
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