R. Kelly's claim that he was too illiterate to read a lawsuit served by one of his sex assault accusers was accepted Wednesday by an Illinois judge who reversed a recent default judgment and reinstated the case.
Cook County Judge Moira Johnson withdrew the early victory granted to plaintiff Heather Williams last month and said the childhood sex assault case can now proceed on its merits.
Williams' lawyer Jeffrey S. Deutschman didn't oppose the reinstatement and said his client is ready to litigate.
"The other side is claiming this is a win. It's not a win. This is routinely granted," Deutschman told the New York Daily News after the ruling.
"We're happy to litigate this case to completion. My client makes an excellent witness. She has a very strong case from a factual standpoint, and Mr. Kelly is going to be found responsible for having sex with her when she was 16," he said.
"That's childhood sexual abuse, and he will be found responsible. It's just a matter of time," Deutschman said.
Kelly was served with the lawsuit while he was briefly behind bars in March for non-payment of child support.
The court granted Williams her default judgment when Kelly missed an initial deadline to answer. A damages hearing was set for Wednesday, but then Kelly responded.
Williams, now 36, claims she was 16 in May 1998 when Kelly approached her on a street and asked if she wanted to appear in a music video.
According to her lawsuit filed Feb. 21 in Cook County Circuit Court, Williams says Kelly's predatory abuse started within a month of their first meeting and continued for years, causing her great "psychological distress."
Deutschman previously confirmed to The News that Williams is the victim identified as "H.W." in the criminal complaint filed against Kelly by Chicago prosecutors in February.
Kelly, 52, has pleaded not guilty to 10 counts of aggravated sex abuse involving four victims _ three of them underage at the time of the alleged crimes.
