CHICAGO — R&B singer R. Kelly has been released on Saturday from the Chicago jail where he's been held since Wednesday after someone paid the $161,000 he owed in back child support, a law enforcement spokeswoman said.
Sophia Ansari, a spokeswoman for the Cook County Sheriff's Department, which operates the jail, said the money was posted sometime Saturday morning. She did not immediately know who posted the money.
Kelly was ordered taken into custody on Wednesday by a judge after he said that he did not have the entire $161,000 he owed in child support.
That trip to jail was Kelly's second in a matter of weeks. Last month, after he was charged with 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse pertaining to four women, including three who were minors when the alleged abuse occurred, he was taken to the same jail. Kelly, whose attorney said at the time that the singer's finances were in disarray, then spent a weekend in jail before a 47-year-old suburban Chicago business owner posted his $100,000 bail.
His attorney and publicist told a similar story this week before and after the hearing in which the judge ordered Kelly into custody, with the publicist telling reporters that Kelly was prepared to pay $50,000 to $60,000 on Wednesday but was not able to pay the entire amount.
Kelly has denied any wrongdoing and has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He has also very publicly proclaimed his innocence, telling Gayle King in an interview that aired this past week on "CBS This Morning" that all his accusers were lying about him. He also talked about his finances, saying that people had stolen money from his bank accounts, though he offered no details.
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Alleged R. Kelly victim's family says singer lied during explosive new interview
A local family who says their daughter is being held against her will by R. Kelly is responding, following the singer's declaration of innocence for the first time since leaving jail.
R. Kelly, whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, was charged in February with sexually abusing four females dating back to 1998, including three underage girls.
Attorney Gerald Griggs represents the family of Joycelyn Savage.
The Savages said their daughter has been “brainwashed” while living with Kelly.
“If there are no problems and she is in a consensual loving relationship with Mr. Robert Sylvester Kelly, she could easily speak to her two younger sisters, her grandmother, her aunts, her uncles, her immediate family,” Griggs said.
Channel 2's Steve Gehlbach spoke with Joycelyn's mom, dad and two younger sisters.
They have not seen her in more than two years and said if she were in a consensual, loving relationship she would still be able to call or communicate with the family.
In the CBS interview, R. Kelly said the charges of sexual abuse against him are all lies.
He also specifically said Savage, at age 19, was handed over to him by her parents, who sold her off to the R&B star.
On Wednesday, they said they never demanded, took or received any money from R. Kelly and her father, Timothy Savage, has never even met him.
Gehlbach asked him his personal reaction while watching Kelly say on national television that he sold his own daughter.
“It hurts me so much to hear that being said and I’m just speechless that we would sell our kids. That’s unheard of,” Timothy Savage said.
After the news conference, someone from R. Kelly’s camp called and let Joycelyn get on the phone and talk to her parents.
She had one line she repeated in the call that lasted just under three minutes.
“I have told you guys a million, million times that I am OK where I am and I’m happy,” she said in a video of the call.
During the call, Joycelyn’s 11-year-old sister, Jori, tried to break through.
“Hey Joycelyn, it’s Jori,” the young girl said to her older sister on the call.
What followed was a seven-second pause from Joycelyn. Griggs said the silence speaks volumes.
“The script was broken and you could tell she was basically being told what to say," Griggs said.
“Can you please come home?” Jori asked Joycelyn on the call.
The conversation ultimately ended with an expression of love on both ends after Joycelyn said she had to go.
“It was of great comfort to hear her response to her younger sister. It shows that the real Joycelyn is in there somewhere,” Griggs said.
Although Joycelyn said she's OK, her family is convinced she's not.
“I know for a fact that my sister is not OK. I know for a fact that R. Kelly is mentally destroying her and I just want her home,” sister Jailyn said.