The daughter of country music legend Wynonna Judd was slapped with prostitution charges Thursday — for allegedly flashing her breasts on a busy Alabama highway while flaunting a “Ride for a Ride” sign after a suspected drug-induced frenzy.
Grace Pauline Kelley, the troubled 27-year-old daughter of the famed “Rock Bottom” vocalist, was picked up April 5 after exposing herself at the bustling crossroads of Interstate 65 and Highway 14 in Millbrook.
She initially was charged with indecent exposure and obstructing governmental operations, but authorities hit her with a soliciting prostitution charge nearly a week later, records show. All three are misdemeanors.
Kelley — who has a history of drug abuse — is still sitting in jail on $2,000 bail.
Police received two calls about the troubled woman’s public behavior — and at first offered her the opportunity to go home without incident.
They found the scantily clad Kelley strolling down the highway near a Walmart carrying her explicit hitchhiking sign.
“And when she made contact with our officers, she argued with them about the legality of what she was doing. And that it was not illegal for her to offer herself in exchange for rides,” Millbrook Police Chief PK Johnson told the Daily Mail.
Kelley left the scene when asked, only to storm into a nearby Circle K gas station an hour later, declaring that she had been robbed.
“While there, she apparently caused a disturbance with some of the customers,” said Johnson.
The clerk called 911, but Kelley ran from the store before officers could arrive.
She didn’t make it far, however — she was found at another nearby highway flashing her torso and lower body, as well as the sign.
“She was not appropriately dressed. She didn’t have the things covered that needed to be covered. And she was holding the ‘Ride for a Ride’ sign while she was in that state and with drivers going by, displaying herself,” said Johnson.
The police chief had previously reported that Kelly “became irate” and refused to identify herself or cooperate with cops.
Because of her argumentative behavior and disturbing state of undress, police placed her under arrest for obstruction of governmental operation, later adding additional charges.
Johnson voiced suspicions that the bizarre incident may have been drug-induced.
“She might not have had drugs on her at the time she was arrested, but if you look at the booking photo, but it hadn’t been long,” he said.
In her booking photo, Kelley’s face appears swollen and bruised, with her right eye nearly shut from the inflammation.
What Kelley was doing on the Alabama highway is still not clear — her last listed address is in Franklin, Tennessee, where her mother lives with third husband Scott Moser.
Insiders told the Daily Mail that Kelley’s famous mother — who boasts 20 No. 1 hits throughout her long career — has not spoken with her derelict daughter since her most recent arrest.
Instead, a representative for the family has been in contact with the court concerning Kelley’s condition, and only her father, businessman Arch Kelley III, has spoken with police.
“I have dealt with parents in this situation who don’t have the means that these people do. But I don’t think it’s as much about as, what are they going to do? Sometimes it’s about what have they already done to help,” Johnson said.
“I got the feeling in talking with him, and this is just my opinion, that they’ve tried to help her and to no avail to this point. There have probably been many attempts on their part to get this young lady help.”
Judd feels “distraught and powerless” over her struggling daughter, but is prepared to take custody of Kelley’s daughter, Kaliyah, should she be sent back to jail.
“She just doesn’t know if there is anything else she can do except for what she is doing already,” a source told the Daily Mail.
“Wynonna truly only wants the best for her and prays for her non-stop, but she does blame herself for Grace’s misfortunes — especially her addiction. Wynonna feels that her fame caused her to not be the best parent that she could have been to Grace growing up.”
Kelley has a lengthy criminal history that includes meth charges and a probation violation that earned her an eight-year sentence in a Tennessee prison in 2018.
Kelley — also the niece of actress Ashley Judd and the granddaughter of late country star Naomi Judd — was later paroled, according to news reports.
But she was arrested again last May on charges that she violated a restraining order and broke the conditions of her parole.
