Mississippi Man Suing R. Kelly for Allegedly Having a 5-Year Affair with His Wife

Kenny Bryant claims that his wife Asia Childress began an extramarital affair with the singer after their 2012 wedding

Photo: Robin Marchant/Getty Images

R. Kelly is being sued by a Mississippi man who claims the singer carried on a five-year affair with his wife, according to a new complaint obtained by local news outlet WAPT.

Kenny Bryant alleged that his wife Asia Childress rekindled a sexual relationship with the singer after attending one of his concerts in October 2012. Bryant claimed that Kelly and Childress had previously been in an intimate relationship, but that the latter told him it had ended ahead of their July 15, 2012 nuptials.

Bryant – who is a deputy with Hinds County Sheriff’s Department in Jackson – alleged that during the first few months following the renewal of the affair, Kelly gave Childress chlamydia.

He also claimed that his wife and Kelly communicated frequently over text message, and would meet up in person in other states, including Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina.

Eventually, he said, Childress convinced him to move to Atlanta for “her career,” but that “the ulterior motive of which was to foster her adulterous relationship with R. Kelly.”

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The move was “financially ruinous” for Bryant, according to the court documents. Subsequently, he said that Childress has filed for divorce in order to continue the alleged affair.

Kelly’s rep declined to comment when reached by PEOPLE. Childress did not respond to a request for comment.

Bryant is seeking compensatory and punitive damages of an undisclosed amount and hopes to “punish [R. Kelly], make an example of him to others, and to deter him and other similarly-situated defendants from engaging in adulterous conduct in the future, in the service of public interest.”

– With reporting by JORDAN RUNTAGH