After failing to show up in Cook County Circuit Court to face allegations that he sexually abused an underage girl in the late 1990s, embattled singer R. Kelly lost a civil lawsuit by default.
Chicago Tribune reports that the “Ignition” singer was served a court summons in March while detained in Cook County Jail for failure to pay back child support. But court filings by the accuser’s attorneys reveal he never filed an appearance in the lawsuit.
Judge Moira Johnson granted the attorneys’ request Tuesday to enter a judgment against Kelly, but it could still be reversed should Kelly involve his attorneys in the suit.
Should he opt not to do so, the 52-year-old musician could be ordered to pay damages as soon as next month when his alleged victim is scheduled to testify about her allegations against him.
The attorney of Kelly’s alleged victim in the suit—who is identified in court documents as H.W.—confirmed to the Tribune earlier this year that his client has pending criminal charges against the singer as well.
The Chicago, Ill., native faces 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse involving four separate alleged victims, three of whom were underage at the time of their abuse.
This article originally appeared on The Grapevine.
