US mayor jailed
Published:Friday | August 8, 2008 | 10:05 AM
The mayor of the US city of Detroit has been jailed for violating the terms of his bail in a perjury case.
Kwame Kilpatrick had travelled to Canada without informing the court.
Mr. Kilpatrick faces charges including lying under oath to try to cover up an affair with his former chief of staff, misconduct and obstruction of justice.
He is also accused of sacking a police officer, who was investigating reports of a wild party at his mayoral mansion.
The 37 year old mayor has denied the charges.
However, he acknowledged that he had made a mistake when he visited Windsor, Ontario, in July on city business.
The mayor said he travelled to Windsor, a short distance from Detroit, for discussions about a tunnel being constructed between the US and Canada.
Detroit District Court Judge Ronald Giles said he was obliged to treat the mayor like any other defendant.
He was charged after the discovery of sexually explicit text messages that appeared to contradict his sworn denials, and could face up to 15 years in jail if convicted.