R. Kelly's ex-road manager charged with threatening woman's father
As recording artist R. Kelly pleaded not guilty to 11 new charges of sexual assault on Thursday, his former road manager was indicted on a single charge in Georgia accusing him of threatening the father of a woman whose family claim she has been brainwashed and held against her will by the singer.
Henry James Mason turned himself into police in Henry County, Georgia, in January, after a judge issued a warrant for his arrest on a charge of making "terroristic threats and acts." Mason was released on $10,000 bond at the time.
On Thursday, a Henry County grand jury indicted Mason on that single charge.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that, according to a police report, Mason told father Tim Savage in a phone call that he would, "do harm to you and your family, when I see you I'm gonna get you, I'm going to (expletive) kill you."
Savage said he'd been trying unsuccessfully to reach his daughter, Joycelyn, when Mason made the purported threat.
He told police Kelly was holding his daughter against her will -- a claim that she has denied publicly along with another woman who has remained with the singer as he battles multiple, serious allegations of sexual assault.
In an interview with "CBS This Morning" co-host Gayle King, Joycelyn Savage went so far as to accuse her parents of trying to "scam" R. Kelly for financial gain by accusing him of holding her against her will.
Speaking about herself and R. Kelly's other live-in girlfriend, both of whom are in their twenties, Savage said: "Our parents are basically out here trying to get money and scam, because they didn't agree on what happened, you know, with music or whatever it could be. And they're just very upset."
Gerald Griggs, a lawyer representing the Savage family, released a statement on Thursday saying the indictment of Mason, "further underscores the public accountability that victims and families are pressing on Mr. Kelly and his team. The Savage family will not be bullied or threatened in their quest to reunite with Joycelyn."
The sexual assault allegations against Kelly have drawn widespread media attention. The singer sat down with "CBS This Morning's" King in March for an explosive interview, in which he denied all the accusations against him.