R. Kelly’s attorney argued that the singer is simply too famous to try and flee the country if he’s let out of jail in court documents filed Monday.
“Mr. Kelly is in his 50’s, does not have any criminal history, has never missed a court date, could not hide or evade surveillance given his fame, now has no passport, has posted a substantial bond in State court, has voluntarily turned himself in on all charges and made no attempt to flee in the face of imminent federal charges, and is presumed innocent,” the 52-year-old singer’s attorney, Steve Greenberg, stated in papers filed with Brooklyn federal Judge Ann Donnelly, according to Page Six. (RELATED: R. Kelly Indicted On Racketeering And Sexual Exploitation Of Children)
Singer R. Kelly reaches out to fans as he performs during the Red Light Concert series at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port-of-Spain, November 2, 2013. Picture taken November 2, 2013. REUTERS/Andrea De Silva
It comes after Greenberg asked the Federal judge in Brooklyn to let his client go free from jail while he awaits trial in sex-trafficking and racketeering cases in Chicago, Brooklyn and Minneapolis. (RELATED: Fans Don’t React To R. Kelly’s Boycott Over Sexual Abuse Allegations The Way You’d Expect)
The lawyer also argued that Kelly is too broke and suffering from various health problems, including an untreated hernia to escape justice before the cases go to trial. (RELATED: Superstar Rapper Says He Failed Alleged R. Kelly Survivors: ‘We Failed Our Communities As Black People’)
The “Bump n’ Grind” hitmaker has been behind bars at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, mostly in solitary confinement, since July.
A separate request is still pending in Chicago from the judge to free him, but even if that jurist allows that to happen, Kelly must also be granted that right from the Brooklyn judge.
As previously reported, the singer was arrested in Chicago in mid-July. Federal prosecutors in Chicago and New York charged him with a total of 18 federal counts and alleged that he had abused women and girls for two decades between the years of 1997 and 2018. He has remained in jail without bond.
On July 16th, he pleaded not guilty to the 13 charges by prosecutors in Illinois. In addition, Kelly was indicted in February and faces 10 charges of aggravated sexual abuse in Cook County, Illinois.