The parents of a woman reported to be a victim of R. Kelly's alleged 'sex cult' have hired attorneys in a bid to have their daughter returned home.
Timothy and Jonjelyn Savage hit headlines last month (Jul17) after claiming their 21-year-old daughter Joycelyn was being held captive by the R&B veteran, who stands accused of manipulating several women into coercive sexual relationships.
A second set of parents of another unidentified female allegedly involved with Kelly have also backed the Savages' statements.
The I Believe I Can Fly hitmaker and his representatives have repeatedly slammed the accusations and threatened legal action, while Joycelyn Savage also dismissed the concerns in a recent video interview.
However, her parents are refusing to give up their fight, and have now recruited attorneys Gerald A. Griggs and Leif Howard to help them "seek the safe return" of Joycelyn, even though she is an adult.
The Savages maintain they are worried for their daughter's welfare as they have not seen her in person for almost a year, reports TMZ.com. Griggs plans to reach out to Kelly's team to negotiate sending Joycelyn back to her loved ones, despite her insistence they leave her alone.
In an interview with TMZ in July (17), Joycelyn told the outlet, "I am in a happy place in my life, and I'm not being brainwashed or anything like that. I just want everybody to know, my parents and everybody in the world, that I am totally fine. I'm happy where I'm at, and everything is OK with me... I've never been held hostage or anything of that nature."
According to BuzzFeed editors, who broke the story last month, police officers in Atlanta, Georgia and Chicago, Illinois have performed welfare checks on the properties Kelly rents in the cities, and have found nothing to warrant further investigation.
Although Kelly, 50, is not currently facing any criminal charges, the controversy appears to be having a negative affect on his concert ticket sales. He recently pulled four tour dates due to poor ticket sales, while officials in Georgia are said to be seeking to cancel another show in the state as a result of local protests.
