Source: Chicago Tribune / Getty
R.Kelly was reportedly placed on suicide watch following his racketeering conviction in New York back in September according to the disgraced singer’s lawyer, The Chicago Tribune reported. Kelly’s attorney Steve Greenberg did not specify whether he was truly at risk of harming himself, but Greenberg did share that it was common practice for federal prison facilities to monitor the emotional well-being of recently convicted inmates. The provision has since been lifted.
Kelly is preparing to ramp up his legal team to help fight the charges in his New York Case. On Sept. 27, the Grammy-award-winning singer was found guilty on all nine counts including one count of racketeering and eight counts of violating the Mann Act related to the star’s transportation and coercion of two women including a minor the New York Times noted. The 54-year-old’s final hearing is set for May 4, 2022, where he potentially faces 10 years to life in prison.
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Kelly faces a separate federal court trial in Illinois where he has been charged with child pornography and obstruction, but the court case, which was originally set for April 2020, has now been pushed back to August 1, 2022, due to the pandemic, according to the Chicago Sun Times.
The Chicago native’s case in Illinois will most likely center around the graphic sex tapes he allegedly made with three minors, court documents revealed. The singer and his associates allegedly paid thousands of dollars in legal settlements and gifts to buy back the copies of the scandalous sex tapes before investigators could retrieve them according to a 13-count indictment filed in July 2019. One of those tapes allegedly pictured the “Bump ‘N Grind” crooner engaging in sexual intercourse with his 13-year-old goddaughter sometime between 1998 and 2000. However, Kelly’s child pornography charges tied to the alleged incident were eventually dropped after the girl, identified as Minor 1, refused to testify against the singer in 2008.
Now, almost two decades later, Minor 1 will reportedly work with federal investigators as one of the key witnesses against Kelly in the Chicago case if it does in fact go to trial. She also is the alleged victim in one of the four pending sexual abuse indictments filed against Kelly in Cook County in February 2019.
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