Valencia, the Chicago area businesswoman who posted R. Kelly’s $100,000 bond in February, is asking to get that money back now that the singer is in federal custody, according to reports from Fox 32 News and theGrio.
Kelly was charged in Cook County with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and released after the bond was paid in installments. In July he was indicted on federal charges in New York and Chicago, and he is now being held without bond. Kelly has denied the allegations against him.
Valencia’s attorney, John Collins, filed a motion asking the court to return the money. He argued she did not know about the federal investigations when she posted the bond and that she is worried about losing it. On Tuesday, September 17, a Cook County judge ruled that the money will stay with the court for now. Reports said she could get it back when Kelly’s cases end.
When she first came forward, she told Fox 32 that Kelly was her friend and she wanted to help. “Let him have his chance in court to prove if he’s innocent or guilty,” she said. She has also said Kelly has not been convicted. Fox 32 reported that her businesses took a hit after word got out that she posted the bond, with customers vowing to stay away.
Kelly’s attorney, Steve Greenberg, said the defense is not planning around the bond money being returned to Kelly at the end of the case.
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