R. Kelly Requests Release From Jail Over Coronavirus Concerns

R. Kelly wants to be released from the Chicago Metropolitan Correctional Center on bond as he awaits his trial in Illinois federal court on child pornography and other charges.

According to Billboard, his attorney, Steven Greenberg, filed a motion on Thursday (March 26), claiming that social distancing for his client, 53, is "simply impossible" in the correctional facility amid the coronavirus pandemic. "No matter what steps they take the sanitation will be substandard, the risk of an internal pandemic at the MCC is great, and if one does get sick jail healthcare is notoriously substandard," he continued, admitting that the entire legal team has been banned from entering the facility due to potential exposure. Additionally, Greenberg noted that soap is only available to inmates who can afford to buy it from the commissary and there is only one bottle of hand sanitizer available on the visiting floor for the staff.

Greenberg detailed that the singer will live with his girlfriend Jocelyn Savage at a Chicago apartment complex and "submit to any conditions that this court saw fit, including home incarceration," if the motion is granted. "The health risk to Mr. Kelly, because of his age and existing health issues, especially considering the conditions at the MCC, necessitates his release on bail," the motion stated.

As you know, the disgraced R&B singer is currently facing several dozen counts of state and federal sexual misconduct charges in Illinois, Minnesota and New York. Among the charges include sexual assault and heading a racketeering scheme aimed at supplying Kelly with young women.

To keep up to date on the latest news about the coronavirus and to understand what you need to stay safe and healthy, check out the Coronavirus: Fact vs Fiction podcast from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Photo: Getty Images


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