CHICAGO — A woman who reportedly befriended R. Kelly on a cruise and paid $100,000 for his bail five months later wants her money back.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported Valencia Love put up the money for the bail in February after the R&B singer was in Cook County Jail for three days. His bail was set at $1 million after he pleaded not guilty to 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
Love paid the 10 percent required, and he was freed, but he has since been back in prison on separate sex crime allegations in federal court, WBBM reported. Now she wants the money back, and her lawyer, John Collins, filed a four-page motion Friday seeking its return, The Sun-Times reported.
"There's been a substantial change of circumstances," Collins said, according to WBBM. "In this instance, he's held no bond, so the purposes of the bond are frustrated in Illinois."
Collins also argued that Love had no idea there were other investigations into Kelly before she posted the 10 percent bail bond, and now that he is being held without bail on separate federal sex crime charges "there’s no need to have her money sitting in deposit."
But Cook County Judge Lawrence Flood denied the request Tuesday, saying it had no legal basis and Love signed the bail bond slip, which warned that she could lose the money because a judge might order that the money used to pay his attorney’s fees, fines or other expenses.
According to the Sun-Times, Love wants the money to go toward those expenses. She told the publication the money was a loan because Kelly was in jail on the weekend and couldn't access his account, which only he has authority to access.
“Why is it such a big deal? He’s already locked up," she said. "Why can’t the bail money be returned?"
At the Tuesday hearing, Flood also denied a motion to increase Kelly's bond to $1 million.
The federal indictment of Kelly in Chicago includes nine counts of enticing a minor, three counts of child pornography and one count of obstruction of justice.Kelly also has federal cases in New York and Minnesota, WGN reported.