The underage victim in R. Kelly's first sex tape has reportedly filed for bankruptcy following his arrest last year, The Blast reports. The woman, whose name has not been revealed, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy after finding herself in financial troubles.
The woman was at the center of the 2002 criminal investigation and was underage at the time of the sex tape that was presented as evidence. Though Kelly was arrested and charge a few years after the alleged tape was filmed, the victim did not cooperate with the police. However, there have been speculation that Kelly dropped money to keep her quiet, though the singer has denied being in the video or getting paid off.
The timing of her filing, however, seemingly coincides with his the singer's federal arrest on child pornography and kidnapping charges. He was ultimately arrested on July 12th, 2019 while she ended up filing for bankruptcy on October 22nd. Ultimately, the judge sided with her after she revealed that her monthly income is zero and had $12,425 in assets but $37,033 in liabilities.
On top of filing for bankruptcy, this is the same victim that hired attorney Christopher Brown in assisting the prosecutors in convicting R. Kelly. "This office is counsel to the child victim and her family that were the subject of the 2008 Robert Kelly (“R. Kelly”) trial," Brown said at the time. "Recent public remarks have been made suggesting that the victim and her family did not testify at the 2008 trial because they received in excess of Two Million Dollars ($2,000,000.00) from R. Kelly for their silence. Such public remarks are false and have no basis in reality.”