The Voice's CeeLo in court over drug charge

The Voice's CeeLo in court over drug charge

He is one of the four judges in the Emmyaward winning reality show The Voice.

CeeLo Green, the six-time Grammy award winner, was in a Los Angeles court on Monday to answer charges that he gave the drug Ecstasy to a woman while the two were dining at a Los Angeles restaurant.

He pleaded not guilty and entered the plea through his lawyer Blair Berk, Mail Online reported. The hearing occurred hours after the 39-year-old was charged with one charge of furnishing a controlled substance.

He could face up to four years in prison if convicted, but is expected to be given probation due to the possession charge being a first offence.

Ms Berk said Green - born Thomas DeCarlo Callaway - was pleased that prosecutors declined to pursue a rape charge against him. She declined comment on the drug-related charge.

BAIL

Green sat in a front row of the courtroom with his girlfriend. The bail was set at US$30,000 (S$37,150). His case is due back in court on Nov 20.

The Crazy hitmaker was charged with giving a woman Ecstasy at a Los Angeles restaurant, but prosecutors declined to file a rape count against the singer because of insufficient evidence.

The woman in question claims the incident allegedly led to her being naked in his bed with no apparent knowledge of how she found herself there.

Police sources have told entertainment website TMZ that her story was flawed, primarily because she had been dating the singer for some time before the alleged incident, and also because she had previously been intimate with the singer.

The drug charge reportedly stems from a secret tape recording made by the complainant. Ms Blair said any sexual contact between Green and the woman was consensual.

She said: "Mr Green encouraged a full and complete investigation of those claims and he was confident once conducted he would be cleared of having any wrongful intent."

He currently appears as a judge on NBC's The Voice, which airs on Monday and Tuesday nights on NBC in the US. It is shown on the AXN channel in Singapore on Sunday night at 8pm.

NBC declined comment on the charge.


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