Singer Bobby Brown pays $63,500 in back child support; released from jail

Jet, April 12, 2004

Bobby Brown was released from jail after spending a night for failing to pay $63,500 in child support.

The performer was released from a Dedham, MA, jail after the Norfolk Probate and Family Court received the money. The source of the payment was not immediately clear.

A day earlier Family Court Judge Paula Carey ordered a tearful Brown jailed for 90 days or until he paid the money he owed ex-girlfriend Kim Ward of Stoughton, MA, the mother of two children, now 12 and 14, he fathered.

Ward's attorney, Linda Medonis, said her client sought the money only on her children's behalf.

Brown testified that he was unable to pay support he owed for the children; he was then ordered 90 days in jail until he could get the money.

"I thought it was paid," Brown told reporters as he left court after his release, calling the matter a "misunderstanding."

Brown continued, "Things happen like that when other people are dealing with your business."

Upon his release, Carey ordered Brown to make a brief appearance to immediately apply for a life insurance policy to benefit the children. She also gave him 90 days to establish an educational trust fund for the children.

Brown had agreed on the life insurance policy and education fund 10 years ago, but had never followed through on them.

Carey also ordered Brown to appear in court in 90 days to see if he has complied with the orders.

The singer was released three days early from a DeKalb County, GA, jail so he could attend the Massachusetts hearing. The Roxbury native was in the Georgia jail where he had been serving a 60-day sentence on a probation violation stemming from a drunk driving charge.

The 35-year-old performer and husband of singer Whitney Houston also is charged with misdemeanor battery after he allegedly hit Houston, leaving her with a bruised cheek and a cut lip. He is scheduled to appear May 5 in a Fulton County, GA, court on that charge.