R. Kelly denied jail release amid claims he was beaten by fellow inmate while no one ‘raised a finger’
A federal judge in Chicago has denied R. Kelly’s request for immediate jail release or an evidentiary hearing amid claims he was beaten by a fellow inmate while no one “raised a finger.”
The singer, now in custody awaiting trials in Illinois and New York for federal criminal charges including sex trafficking and child pornography, asked the court to reconsider his no-bail hold after the alleged beatdown in August.
He and his lawyers claimed in a filing last week that the former fellow inmate accosted Kelly at the Metropolitan Correctional Center and was “well into beating” the singer before staff intervened.
They said “no one at the MCC raised a finger to stop” the beating in a timely manner and claimed Kelly “suffered significant physical and psychological injuries.”
“While this incident is concerning, it does not warrant immediate release,” Judge Harry D. Leinenweber wrote in his ruling Monday.
“This single isolated incident does not suggest that the Bureau of Prisons is incapable of safely housing Mr. Kelly,” the judge wrote.
“The inmate involved in the incident with Mr. Kelly has since been transferred to a different facility. In any event, release from custody is not the appropriate remedy for such a wrong,” the judge said.
“If Mr. Kelly wishes to challenge the conditions of his confinement or the MCC’s ability to protect him, he can bring those claims in a separate civil action following proper exhaustion of administrative remedies,” the judge said.
Judge Leinenweber said the court continues to view Kelly as both a danger to the community and a flight risk, considering his music industry wealth and the seriousness of the charges.
“Mr. Kelly has not demonstrated a change in circumstances that alters the court’s previous conclusion that pretrial detention is necessary,” the judge wrote.
Kelly’s team has argued for his release at least a half a dozen times since he was taken into federal custody in July 2019.
