BABYFACE - MAN PLEADS GUILTY IN BABYFACE EXTORTION ATTEMPT

MAN PLEADS GUILTY IN BABYFACE EXTORTION ATTEMPT

LATEST: A man claiming to be KENNETH 'BABYFACE' EDMONDS' illegitimate son will spend six months in a halfway house after pleading guilty to a misdemeanour intimidation charge. JOHN TRAVIS CLARK, who tried to extort $9 million (GBP5 million) from the Grammy award-winning musician, was also sentenced to six months probation as part of a plea agreement. Clark, who has already spent 98 days in jail since his arrest in May (06), was detained after he contacted an attorney for the singer and threatened to go public with his story. Edmonds did not attend the hearing on Thursday (24AUG06) in an Indianapolis, Indiana courtroom. He said in a statement, "I want to make it emphatically clear that John Clark is not my son. "John Clark sought to ruin my reputation by broadcasting his lies to the entire country, which would not only destroy my family, but would resonate loudly in the music industry." Clark had originally offered to "keep his mouth shut" in exchange for $20 million (GBP11 million), according to court documents. He later lowered his demand to $9 million (GBP5 million) and met with attorney WILLIAM BRIGGS at an Indianapolis restaurant on 19 May (06), where he was subsequently arrested. Edmonds has written hits for artists such as WHITNEY HOUSTON, MARY J BLIGE, MARIAH CAREY and BOBBY BROWN.