Wynonna Judd’s daughter, Grace Kelley, has accused her former stepfather of sexually abusing her when she was 10, and further claims her mother attempted to cover it up.
Kelley, 29, is the country music star’s second child with businessman Arch Kelley III, from whom Judd divorced in 1998.
In a new interview with The Daily Progress, Kelley claims the second of her mother’s three husbands — the singer’s former bodyguard — D. R. Roach, molested her.
Her mother’s response, Kelley said, was to bring the family together for counseling.
“Then when they found out in counseling what he had done to me, they’re like, ‘Wait a minute. We’re going to report this to law enforcement,’” she said.
Roach is currently listed as an active offender against children in the Tennessee Sex Offender Registry. The database says he pleaded guilty to criminal attempt to commit aggravated sexual battery, with a date of offense listed as February 1, 2007. His victim was never publicly identified.
“When he was arrested and it came out in the news, that’s when she divorced him,” Kelley said.
“So is my mom rich? Yeah, she’s so rich that she was able to sweep me under the rug and abuse me and then cover it all up. I don’t want to talk bad about my mom, but we’ll just say she’s a good performer. She was never a mother.”
The Independent has contacted Judd’s representatives for comment.
Judd’s daughter has had multiple run-ins with the law, including three arrests last year, most recently serving six weeks in jail after stealing a church van while high on drugs.
“My story is so messed up,” Kelley told The Daily Progress. “Between 12 and 17, I was in 14 different facilities.”
The publication reports that Kelley is currently sober and living in Charlottesville, Virginia, with her boyfriend after finding religion.
Although Judd has not publicly addressed her daughter’s legal troubles, she spoke to Us Weekly in June about raising her three-year-old granddaughter, Kaliyah, on her 1,000-acre Tennessee farm with her husband of 13 years, drummer Cactus Moser.
“The greatest thing I can tell her is that she’s loved unconditionally. I want her to know her best is good enough,” Judd said.
The Grammy-winning star previously opened up about her own experiences with sexual abuse in the Lifetime documentary The Judd Family: Truth Be Told, which aired in May.
“I was molested at 12, so my whole sexuality thing was really stamped out because I just, at 12, shut down. I carried the weight, both literally and figuratively,” she said.
If you are a child and you need help because something has happened to you, you can call the NSPCC free of charge on 0800 1111. You can also call the NSPCC if you are an adult and you are worried about a child, on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adults on 0808 801 0331.
