Bobby Brown was ordered on Monday to remain in a county jail until he pays $19,000 US in late child support and court fees, his lawyer said.

"We're diligently working on getting those funds available from outside sources," said Phaedra Parks, an attorney in Atlanta where Brown currently lives. Parks doubted Brown would get out of jail before Tuesday morning.

Former hit R&B singer Bobby Brown was arrested Sunday and remained in jail Monday over late child support and court fees.
(Associated Press)

Parks said the rhythm-and-blues singer has been struggling to meet monthly payments to Kim Ward, of Stoughton, Mass., the mother of his two teenage children.

"Although this agreement was put in place when he was Bobby Brown the star, this agreement is being enforced when he is not always able to find work," Parks told the Associated Press. "He hasn't made an album in quite some years."

Brown is in the midst of a divorce from pop diva Whitney Houston, after 14 years of marriage.

A judge in Norfolk Probate and Family Court ordered Brown held in the county jail in Dedham, Mass., on Monday, one day after the singer was arrested while he was watching his daughter's cheerleading competition at Attleboro High School.

Adam Loomis of All State Constables in Weymouth, Mass., said he served an arrest warrant against Brown for failing to appear at a child support hearing in October.

In October, Brown paid $11,000 US in delinquent child support after being threatened with arrest if he stepped back into Massachusetts. He owed more than two months' worth of payments to Ward.

Brown currently owes child support from January, plus late penalties, Ward's attorney fees and constable fees, Parks said.

Brown, a Boston native best known for a solo hit Don't Be Cruel, has a history of legal troubles. In June 2004, he was sentenced to 90 days in prison for missing three months of payments. That sentence was immediately suspended after Brown paid about $15,000 US.

Last March, when also in Massachusetts to watch his daughter at a cheering competition, Brown was nabbed for minor motor-vehicle violations dating back 14 years.