Uncle Kracker Arrested on Sex Charge

In this photo taken Aug. 17, 2007, provided by the County City Bureau of Investigation, Matthew Shafer, aka rock-country musician Uncle Kracker, is shown. Shafer was arrested early Friday morning, Aug. 17, 2007, on a charge of second-degree sex offense stemming from an incident at a nightclub, authorities said. Shafer was being held on a $5 million bond after being arrested at a hotel in suburban Cary, N.C., said Raleigh (N.C.) police spokesman Jim Sughrue. (AP Photo/County City Bureau of Investigation) (AP)

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Uncle Kracker, a former disc jockey for Kid Rock, was released on $75,000 bond following his arrest early Friday on a second-degree sex offense charge. Authorities said Kracker was arrested after a 26-year-old woman alleged that a man had committed a sexual act against her at the Ess Lounge, a downtown nightclub.

Police in suburban Cary detained Kracker, 33, at an Embassy Suites hotel until Raleigh officers arrived and took him to the Wake County Jail, said Raleigh police spokesman Jim Sughrue.

Authorities had obtained a warrant charging Kracker with a second-degree forcible sex offense, Sughrue said.

Kracker, whose real name is Matthew Shafer, was released early Friday afternoon after a district court judge reduced his bond from $5 million to $75,000.

He had been scheduled to perform Thursday night at the Ess Lounge, according to the nightclub's Web site.

Kracker's local attorney, James A. Crouch, didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.

A message left with the rock-country musician's listed agency in Nashville, Tenn., wasn't immediately returned, and a phone number for his listed management company in Harrison Township, Mich., was disconnected.

Kracker's hits include "When the Sun Goes Down," a duet with Kenny Chesney. He has also won acclaim for "Follow Me" and a cover version of Dobie Gray's "Drift Away."