KANSAS CITY, Mo., July 17 (UPI) -- R&B star R. Kelly is being sued by a man who claims the singer owes him $75,000 for recovering a stolen videotape of a "performance."
The suit said Kelly, who faces 15 years in prison and a $100,000 fine for child pornography, promised the man $100,000 plus up to $40,000 in expenses for the tape but does not specify why the tape was worth so much to the singer.
A lawyer for Charles Freeman told the Kansas City Star his client didn't ask why.
Kelly, 35, was released on $750,000 bond last month after being indicted by a Chicago grand jury on 21 charges of child pornography. The Chicago Sun-Times had turned over to police a 26-minute video allegedly showing the singer in sex acts with a 14-year-old girl. Police gave the tape to the FBI crime lab for authentication. The newspaper said the tape was mailed anonymously.
Kelly was charged with seven counts each of videotaping, producing and soliciting. The alleged acts took place at Kelly's home. He was arrested at a home he rents near Haines City, Fla., after police had staked out the residence.
Kelly insists the tape is a fake. His lawyer said the girl was not underage.
In May, a 33-year-old woman accused Kelly of secretly videotaping the pair in a sexual encounter with a hidden camera at Kelly's music studio. The encounter is one of three copied on a bootleg video sold on street corners around the country.
The Kansas City Star said a private detective employed by Kelly reached a contract with Freeman that required all information about the recovered tape remain confidential. The contract reportedly gave Freeman two days to get to videotape and required him to pass a lie detector test to prove he knew of no other copies in existence.
The lawsuit claims Freeman was paid $65,000 rather than the $100,000 and expenses.
Freeman's lawyer said his client gave Kelly a copy of the tape but kept the original.
A high school dropout, Kelly rose from singing for spare change on transit platforms to become a music superstar with hits like 1996's inspirational "I Believe I Can Fly" from the "Space Jam" movie soundtrack.
His five albums have sold more than 23 million copies, and the Grammy winning TP-2.com album debuted at No. 1 in November 2000.
Kelly, who is married and has two daughters and a month-old son, has settled several lawsuits with other women. His first wife was the late pop star Aaliyah, who lied about her age to marry Kelly in a secret ceremony in 1994, when she was just 15. The marriage was annulled in Detroit less than six months later.
