'American Idol' Finalist Gets The Boot

"American Idol" finalist Corey Clark has been dropped from the Fox series because of an arrest last fall at his family's Topeka, Kan., home.

The 22-year-old singer withheld information about the arrest, which, had it been known, "might have affected his participation in the show," Fox said in a statement Monday. The statement didn't include a comment from Clark and Fox declined to divulge information on how to contact him.

Full disclosure is required of all contestants, the network said. A misspelling of Clark's name in a police report allowed the arrest to go undetected during a background check, Fox said.

A Web site, The Smoking Gun, reported Monday that Clark faces trial next month on charges he assaulted his teenage sister and fought police officers while resisting arrest.

A three-count misdemeanor complaint filed by prosecutors in Kansas District Court charges Clark with resisting arrest, battery upon his sister and criminal restraint, according to the Web site.

The complaint was filed Dec. 4, shortly after Clark was picked to compete on the "American Idol" talent show.

He's not the first to be dropped because of his past. Contestant Frenchie Davis was bumped because she'd worked for an adult-oriented Web site, as was semifinalist Jaered Andrews, whom The Smoking Gun said faced a misdemeanor assault charge.

"Unfortunately, the search process is not perfect," the network said. "We regret the error, but the only thing we can do is learn from the incident, continue to improve the background check process, and move on."

Clark was one of nine remaining contestants on the hit talent search program, and as of Tuesday morning, was still featured on the show's Web site. No decision will be made on how his absence will affect this week's shows, which air Tuesday and Wednesday, the network said.