R. Kelly arrives at the Daley Center for his hearing on March 6, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. Photo / Getty
R. Kelly arrives at the Daley Center for his hearing on March 6, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. Photo / Getty
R. Kelly has claimed a learning disability prevented him from reading court documents in his alleged criminal sexual abuse case.
The Ignition hitmaker was served in his civil case - in which Heather Williams alleges he sexually abused her when she was 16 - after Heather won a default judgementagainst Kelly when he failed to appear for a hearing in the case earlier this week.
Singer R. Kelly appears in court with his attorney Steve Greenberg (L) for a hearing to request that he be allowed to travel to Dubai. Photo / Getty
And now, his lawyers Zaid Abdallah and Raed Shalabi have claimed that Kelly had no idea what the serving papers were about and therefore didn't take the appropriate steps to defend himself, because of a learning disability that prevents him from being able to read.
According to TMZ, documents filed by Abdallah and Shalabi read: "[Kelly] suffers from a learning disability that adversely affects his ability to read. In essence he cannot."
The attorneys are also claiming Kelly should not have been served the papers at all, as he was in Cook County Jail at the time for failing to pay child support to his ex-wife Andrea Lee.
Kelly's team are asking the courts to vacate the decision so the star can properly mount his defence this time around.
The latest claim against Kelly came after he was faced with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse when four women accused him of sexually abusing them, three of whom claim they were underage at the time of the alleged incidents.
R. Kelly poses for a mugshot photo after being arrested. Photo / Getty
Kelly previously denied all charges against him during an interview in March, before he became emotional and claimed his critics are "trying to kill" him. He said: "Quit playing, I didn't do this stuff.
"This is not me. I'm fighting for my f*****g life! Y'all killing me with this s**t! I've given you 30 years of my f****g career! 30 years of my career! Y'all trying to kill me! You're killing me man!
"This is not about music! I'm trying to have a relationship with my kids and I can't do it! Y'all just don't want to believe the truth. Y'all don't want to believe it. This is not true! It doesn't even make sense! Why would I hold all these women! Their mothers and fathers told me, 'We're going to destroy your career.'"
