R Kelly faces previously filed federal and state charges in New York and Chicago (Amr Alfiky/AP)
Singer R Kelly failed to show up for an initial court appearance in a case in which he is accused of offering a 17-year-old girl 200 dollars (£162) to take off her clothes and dance in 2001.
Kelly, who is in jail in Chicago on sexual abuse and other charges, was charged in Minnesota in August with soliciting the girl after meeting her before a concert in Minneapolis.
Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, faces previously filed federal and state charges in New York and Chicago.
Prosecutor Judith Cole told Judge Jay Quam during Thursday’s brief hearing in Minneapolis that federal authorities in Illinois were “not willing to give us access to him” until his case there is resolved.
The judge then issued a bench warrant as a formality.
Kelly’s lawyer Steve Greenberg, who did not attend the hearing, called the Minnesota charges “beyond absurd” when they were announced.
R Kelly fails to show up in court on solicitation charge
