A bench warrant was issued for singer R. Kelly in Hennepin County District Court in Minnesota for failure to appear, a spokesman for the county attorney's office said Thursday.

Axar.az reports citing Independent that senior Hennepin County Attorney Judith Cole said no attorney had approached her office or filed a certificate of representation for Kelly.

Kelly, whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, is facing two counts of engaging in prostitution with a person under 18 in Minnesota, officials said.

A bench warrant makes it non-voluntary for Kelly to show up in court next time.

Kelly is currently being held in the Federal Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago on federal sex crime charges. His initial trial date on those charges has been set for April 27, 2020.

Greenberg added, "He is in custody. It is the prosecutor who must obtain a court order for #RKelly to appear, and it is the prosecutor who must go get him if, as here, he is in custody elsewhere. They do not just give him a travel pass from federal custody."