The prosecutors handling R. Kelly’s case aren’t buying his pleas to be released from jail.
R. Kelly‘s legal team has been trying, again and again, to get the disgraced singer out of jail as he awaits his April 2020 trial on sexual abuse charges, but prosecutors continue to push back. The most recent attempt came Monday when Kelly’s lawyers begged a judge to let him go home because he is suffering some serious health issues. The defense team claimed the “Step In the Name of Love” singer is suffering from anxiety, numbness in his hands and an untreated hernia with inadequate medical treatment behind bars. The filing forced prosecutors to respond, saying no matter what the condition, R. Kelly deserves to stay locked up.
TMZ obtained court documents from the prosecution team Wednesday that double down on their stance that Kelly is a flight risk. The documents said that when R. Kelly was released on bail in Illinois earlier this year, he attempted to take a trip to Dubois with his two live-in girlfriends even while charges were pending. The government also responded to the singer’s claim that he would not attempt to tamper with witnesses if he is able to go home. The new filing said Kelly “has a history of coercing women to write letters containing false and embarrassing allegations” and that he has the potential to bribe or blackmail accusers if released.
Kelly has also asserted that he is broke and out of money, but the government said they are aware that he is being funneled money from music royalties into a secret account set up by a friend, the site reveals. The new documents do not have a response to Kelly’s alleged failing health, although some parts were redacted before being made public.
A judge has yet to respond, but R. Kelly was denied release after a similar battle earlier this year. He faces federal sex trafficking charges in multiple states after being accused by various women of decades of abuse.
