Judge Sends Mel Reynolds To Prison To Await Trial

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Former congressman Mel Reynolds has been sent to prison by a federal judge for failing to fulfill the requirements for electronic monitoring.

Reynolds is scheduled to go on trial in June on misdemeanor tax charges.

Reynolds had been free on bond and had traveled to South Africa with is daughter.

He failed to return for a scheduled court date before U.S. District Judge John Darrah last month.

When Reynolds did return last week, he was briefly detained by U.S. Marshal's in Atlanta.

At Wednesday's hearing, Darrah ordered Reynolds sent to the Metropolitan Correctional Center.

Reynolds apparently could not provide a place of residence where he would stay while being monitored electronically.

He told the judge that one location did not want the equipment on the property, adding that his status as a registered sex offender limits places he can live, such as near schools or playgrounds.