Lawyers for R. Kelly claim wrongdoing by prosecutors, say imprisoned singer’s life in dangeron June 10, 2025 at 2:45 pm
MAK Gojar
Lawyers for imprisoned R&B superstar R. Kelly claim they have uncovered evidence of government wrongdoing and that the Chicago-born singer’s life is in danger.
Kelly’s legal team said in a news release Tuesday they will be filing an emergency motion in Chicago federal court documenting their allegations and seeking Kelly’s immediate release from a federal penitentiary in North Carolina, where he’s serving a 30-year sentence for sexual misconduct.
The motion, the lawyers say, will be “backed by concrete evidence and declarations that expose a disturbing pattern of government corruption and criminal misconduct” by federal prosecutors in Chicago and New York as well as officials with the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
The news release claims the officials unjustly manufacture charges against Kelly and are trying to cover it up.
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Chicago could not immediately be reached for comment.
Kelly’s lead attorney, Beau Brindley, and other members of his office plan to hold a news conference outside the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago this afternoon.
Kelly, 58, was convicted in 2022 in Chicago of child pornography for making explicit videos of himself and his then-teenage goddaughter, who testified at trial under the pseudonym Jane. He also was convicted of inappropriate sexual relations with Jane and two other teenage girls, “Pauline” and “Nia.”
The jury acquitted Kelly and two co-defendants on charges they conspired to retrieve incriminating tapes and rig his 2008 trial by pressuring Jane to lie to investigators about their relationship and refuse to testify against him.
Kelly was also found not guilty of filming himself with Jane on a video that jurors never saw. Prosecutors said “Video 4? was not played because Kelly’s team successfully buried it, but defense attorneys questioned whether it existed at all.
Brindley represented Kelly’s former manager, Derrel McDavid, in that case, but has since been hired by Kelly.
Meanwhile, Kelly was also convicted in federal court in New York in 2021 of racketeering conspiracy charges alleging his musical career doubled as a criminal enterprise aimed at satisfying his predatory sexual desires.
E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune
Singer R. Kelly appears at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago on June 6, 2019, where he pleaded not guilty to new charges.
Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly turns himself in at 1st District police headquarters in Chicago on Feb. 22, 2019.
Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune
Singer R. Kelly walks into court at the Daley Center for a hearing on his child support case on March 13, 2019, in Chicago. Kelly had been jailed earlier this month for failure to make about $160,000 in outstanding child support payments.
Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly’s former girlfriends Azriel Clary, left, and Joycelyn Savage, right, leave following Kelly’s hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court building, Sept. 17, 2019.
Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune
Singer R. Kelly walks into court at the Daley Center for a hearing on his child support case on March 13, 2019, in Chicago.
Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly turns to exit during a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court building, Sept. 17, 2019.
Tom Gianni sketch/AP
In this courtroom sketch, R&B singer R. Kelly appears before Cook County Associate Judge Lawrence Flood with his attorney Steve Greenberg, Feb. 25, 2019, at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse in Chicago. Kelly’s attorney entered not guilty pleas on the singer’s behalf.
Stephanie Keith/The New York Times
Jennifer Bonjean, defense attorney for the singer R. Kelly, arrives for his sentencing hearing at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn on June 29, 2022.
Scott Strazzante/Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly performs at the Allstate Arena in 2003.
E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly stands behind his attorney, Steven Greenberg, as Greenberg speaks to Judge Lawrence Flood at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on May 7, 2019.
Nuccio DiNuzzo/Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly, performing at the Pitchfork Festival, in Chicago, on July 21, 2013.
Stephanie Keith/The New York Times
Jennifer Bonjean, defense attorney for the singer R. Kelly, speaks outside the federal courthouse in Brooklyn on June 29, 2022, after R&B singer Kelly was sentenced to 30 years.
Michael Tercha/Chicago Tribune
Singer R. Kelly leaves the Cook County Criminal Court Building after a hearing Aug. 21, 2007.
Chuck Berman/Chicago Tribune
Singer Robert Kelly enters court at 26th and California with a phalanx of sheriff’s deputies in 2002. A fan tried to shake Kelly’s hand, but deputies pushed him away.
Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly follows his lawyer out of his studio Feb. 22, 2019.
E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly appears before Judge Lawrence Flood at a hearing at Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago on May 7, 2019.
Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune
Singer R. Kelly walks out of Cook County Jail, accompanied by his attorney, Steven Greenberg, right, on March 9, 2019, after paying more than $160,000 in child support.
Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly, center, who was charged with child pornography, leaves the Leighton Criminal Court Building after appearing in front af a judge Feb. 7, 2003.
Charles Bennett/AP
R&B singer R. Kelly, center, is surrounded by deputies as he leaves court Nov. 1, 2002, in Chicago. A judge ruled that Kelly, who had been free on bond since he was indicted in June on child pornography charges, can leave the state to appear at a concert in New York later in the month.
Cheryl Cook / AP
In this courtroom sketch, the front of the courtroom is blocked off as a sexually graphic video clip is played for the jury during R. Kelly’s trial in federal court Aug. 19, 2022, in Chicago.
Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune
Latoya Williams, left, of Chicago, and other fans, come out to support R&B star R. Kelly as he arrives at the Cook County Criminal Courts Building for closing arguments in his child pornography trial on June 12, 2008
Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune
Singer R. Kelly walks into court at the Daley Center for a hearing on his child support case on March 13, 2019, in Chicago.
Ovie Carter/Chicago Tribune
Singer R. Kelly appears in court on Sept. 20, 2002, for a status hearing on child pornography charges.
Lazarus Jean-Baptiste / CBS
“CBS This Morning” co-host Gayle King remains calm during her interview with the emotional R. Kelly in Chicago on March 5, 2019.
John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune
Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx describes what happened to alleged victims of R. Kelly after his bond hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on Feb. 23, 2019, in Chicago.
Heather Stone / Chicago Tribune
In this Dec. 21, 2007 file photo, R. Kelly arrives at the Cook County Criminal Courts building in Chicago to find out if the judge wants to revoke his bond or to deny permission to tour after missing a scheduled hearing.
Scott Strazzante/Chicago Tribune
Derrick Mosley, founder and president of the Bringing About Reform organization, destroys R. Kelly compact discs in front of WGCI radio headquarters on South Michigan Avenue on Jan. 28, 2002. Mosley called others to come together for a day of repudiation to protest the embattled singer and the radio station for blatant disrespect toward the community.
Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly arrives to the Daley Center in Chicago for a child support hearing on March 13, 2019.
E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune
Singer R. Kelly, right, appears at a hearing before Judge Lawrence Flood at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on March 22, 2019.
Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly arrives for his child support hearing at the Daley Center on March 6, 2019, in Chicago.
E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune
Assistant State’s Attorney Jennifer Gonzalez, center, responds to R. Kelly attorney Steve Greenberg, right, at Kelly’s hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago on May 7, 2019.
Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune
Najee Ali with anti-R. Kelly signs, laughs at the jeers and put downs by two women shouting in defense of Kelly outside the Cook County Criminal Courts Building, May 9, 2008, in Chicago.
John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune
A man motions for photographers to get out of the way as Joycelyn Savage and Azriel Clary exit after a bond hearing for Savage’s boyfriend, R. Kelly, at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on Feb. 23, 2019, in Chicago.
Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune
City inspectors from the Department of Buildings and Chicago Fire Department enter the from back door alley entrance to the studio space for musician R. Kelly on Jan. 16, 2019.
E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune
Singer R. Kelly, center, appears at a hearing before Judge Lawrence Flood at Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago on June 26, 2019.
Elizabeth Williams / AP
In this courtroom sketch, Kitti Jones, right, speaks during R. Kelly’s sentencing in federal court in New York on June 29, 2022. Kelly and his attorney Ashley Cohen are seated, background left. The former R&B superstar was convicted of racketeering and other crimes.
Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly follows his lawyer out of his studio Feb. 22, 2019.
Chuck Berman/Chicago Tribune
Singer Robert Kelly, known as R Kelly, leaves court with a phalanx of sheriff’s deputies on June 26, 2002. He pleaded not guilty to charges of child pornography.
John Bartley/for the Chicago Tribune
Singer R. Kelly performs at United Center on May 14, 1999.
David Banks/for the Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly performs at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont on June, 16, 2011.
E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly stands behind his attorney, Steven Greenberg, as Greenberg speaks to Judge Lawrence Flood at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on May 7, 2019.
Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly, center, arrives for his child support hearing at the Daley Center on March 6, 2019, in Chicago.
Scott Strazzante / Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly performs at Arie Crown Theatre in Chicago on Oct. 25, 2012.
Angela Weiss/Getty-AFP
Attorney Gloria Allred, who represented several of Chicago-born R&B singer R. Kelly’s victims, speaks before the sentencing hearing in New York on June 29, 2022.
Charles Cherney/Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly, nominated for five Grammy Awards in 1997, records at Chicago Trax Studio on Jan. 22, 1998.
Chuck Berman / Chicago Tribune
R&B star R. Kelly arrives at the Cook County Criminal Courts Building, Thursday, Dec. 20, 2007, in Chicago. Kelly was threatened with arrest after failing to appear in court Wednesday. (Chuck Berman/Chicago Tribune)
Cheryl Cook / Chicago Tribune
A courtroom sketch shows defense attorneys Ashley Cohen, from left, and Jennifer Bonjean with singer R. Kelly at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on Sept. 14, 2022.
Michael Tercha/Chicago Tribune
R&B star R. Kelly, 41, arrives at the Cook County Criminal Courts Building for his child pornography trial on May 20, 2008, in Chicago. The charges against Kelly stem from a 15-minute videotape that law-enforcement officials say he made with the alleged victim between Jan. 1, 1998, and Nov. 1, 2000.
Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune
Demonstrators rally in response to the R. Kelly allegations, Jan. 9, 2019, outside his recording studio in the West Loop.
Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly, center, appears at the Daley Center in Chicago on May 8, 2019, for a hearing in his child support case.
Brian Kersey/for the Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly performs at the Chicago Theatre on April 26, 2006.
Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune
Cook County State’s Attorney Kimberly Foxx announces charges against R&B superstar R. Kelly as Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson looks on at her office in Chicago on Feb. 22, 2019. Kelly was indicted on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly’s defense attorney Jennifer Bonjean speaks to the media at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago after verdicts were reached in Kelly’s trial on Sept. 14, 2022.
Nuccio DiNuzzo / Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly performs at Pitchfork Festival in Chicago on July 21, 2013.
Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly appears during a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse on Sept. 17, 2019.
John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune
Joycelyn Savage, center, and Azriel Clary, right, attend a bond hearing for R. Kelly at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on Feb. 23, 2019, in Chicago.
E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune
Steve Greenberg, attorney for R. Kelly, files a motion before Judge Lawrence Flood requesting law enforcement officials preserve all communications between prosecutors and attorney Michael Avenatti at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on April 1, 2019.
Barry Brecheisen/for the Chicago Tribune
R&B singer R. Kelly departs after his court appearance on May 18, 2007, for child pornography charges at the Leighton Criminal Court Building.
Carl Wagner/Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly is led from the Leighton Criminal Court Building by Chicago police officers to a waiting police car to be taken to the 10th District station on June 7, 2002.
Scott Strazzante / Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly performs at Arie Crown Theatre in Chicago on Oct. 25, 2012.
Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel
R. Kelly listens to Judge Karla Wright during his first appearance hearing on felony child pornography charges June 6, 2002, at the Polk County Courthouse in Bartow, Fla. The judge approved Kelly’s release from custody on $750,000 bail.
Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly leaves Cook County Jail after posting bond at Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago on Feb. 25, 2019.
Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune
Musician R. Kelly, blue jacket, leaves the Cook County Jail on Feb. 25, 2019, after posting a $1 million bond.
E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune
1 of 63
Singer R. Kelly appears at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago on June 6, 2019, where he pleaded not guilty to new charges.
He’s serving his time in a medium-security federal prison facility in Butner, North Carolina, and is not eligible for release until the year 2045, records show.
Kelly also has a pending lawsuit against the Bureau of Prisons alleging a former employee leaked his jail calls and other information to a video blogger.
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com
Lawyers for imprisoned R&B superstar R. Kelly claim they have uncovered evidence of government wrongdoing and that the Chicago-born singer’s life is in danger.
R. Kelly turns himself in at 1st District police headquarters in Chicago on Friday night, Feb. 22, 2019. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
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Lawyers for imprisoned R&B superstar R. Kelly claim they have uncovered evidence of government wrongdoing and that the Chicago-born singer’s life is in danger.
Kelly’s legal team said in a news release Tuesday they will be filing an emergency motion in Chicago federal court documenting their allegations and seeking Kelly’s immediate release from a federal penitentiary in North Carolina, where he’s serving a 30-year sentence for sexual misconduct.
The motion, the lawyers say, will be “backed by concrete evidence and declarations that expose a disturbing pattern of government corruption and criminal misconduct” by federal prosecutors in Chicago and New York as well as officials with the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
The news release claims the officials unjustly manufacture charges against Kelly and are trying to cover it up.
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Chicago could not immediately be reached for comment.
Kelly’s lead attorney, Beau Brindley, and other members of his office plan to hold a news conference outside the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago this afternoon.
Kelly, 58, was convicted in 2022 in Chicago of child pornography for making explicit videos of himself and his then-teenage goddaughter, who testified at trial under the pseudonym Jane. He also was convicted of inappropriate sexual relations with Jane and two other teenage girls, “Pauline” and “Nia.”
The jury acquitted Kelly and two co-defendants on charges they conspired to retrieve incriminating tapes and rig his 2008 trial by pressuring Jane to lie to investigators about their relationship and refuse to testify against him.
Kelly was also found not guilty of filming himself with Jane on a video that jurors never saw. Prosecutors said “Video 4? was not played because Kelly’s team successfully buried it, but defense attorneys questioned whether it existed at all.
Brindley represented Kelly’s former manager, Derrel McDavid, in that case, but has since been hired by Kelly.
Meanwhile, Kelly was also convicted in federal court in New York in 2021 of racketeering conspiracy charges alleging his musical career doubled as a criminal enterprise aimed at satisfying his predatory sexual desires.
E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune
Singer R. Kelly appears at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago on June 6, 2019, where he pleaded not guilty to new charges.
Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly turns himself in at 1st District police headquarters in Chicago on Feb. 22, 2019.
Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune
Singer R. Kelly walks into court at the Daley Center for a hearing on his child support case on March 13, 2019, in Chicago. Kelly had been jailed earlier this month for failure to make about $160,000 in outstanding child support payments.
Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly’s former girlfriends Azriel Clary, left, and Joycelyn Savage, right, leave following Kelly’s hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court building, Sept. 17, 2019.
Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune
Singer R. Kelly walks into court at the Daley Center for a hearing on his child support case on March 13, 2019, in Chicago.
Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly turns to exit during a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court building, Sept. 17, 2019.
Tom Gianni sketch/AP
In this courtroom sketch, R&B singer R. Kelly appears before Cook County Associate Judge Lawrence Flood with his attorney Steve Greenberg, Feb. 25, 2019, at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse in Chicago. Kelly’s attorney entered not guilty pleas on the singer’s behalf.
Stephanie Keith/The New York Times
Jennifer Bonjean, defense attorney for the singer R. Kelly, arrives for his sentencing hearing at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn on June 29, 2022.
Scott Strazzante/Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly performs at the Allstate Arena in 2003.
E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly stands behind his attorney, Steven Greenberg, as Greenberg speaks to Judge Lawrence Flood at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on May 7, 2019.
Nuccio DiNuzzo/Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly, performing at the Pitchfork Festival, in Chicago, on July 21, 2013.
Stephanie Keith/The New York Times
Jennifer Bonjean, defense attorney for the singer R. Kelly, speaks outside the federal courthouse in Brooklyn on June 29, 2022, after R&B singer Kelly was sentenced to 30 years.
Michael Tercha/Chicago Tribune
Singer R. Kelly leaves the Cook County Criminal Court Building after a hearing Aug. 21, 2007.
Chuck Berman/Chicago Tribune
Singer Robert Kelly enters court at 26th and California with a phalanx of sheriff’s deputies in 2002. A fan tried to shake Kelly’s hand, but deputies pushed him away.
Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly follows his lawyer out of his studio Feb. 22, 2019.
E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly appears before Judge Lawrence Flood at a hearing at Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago on May 7, 2019.
Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune
Singer R. Kelly walks out of Cook County Jail, accompanied by his attorney, Steven Greenberg, right, on March 9, 2019, after paying more than $160,000 in child support.
Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly, center, who was charged with child pornography, leaves the Leighton Criminal Court Building after appearing in front af a judge Feb. 7, 2003.
Charles Bennett/AP
R&B singer R. Kelly, center, is surrounded by deputies as he leaves court Nov. 1, 2002, in Chicago. A judge ruled that Kelly, who had been free on bond since he was indicted in June on child pornography charges, can leave the state to appear at a concert in New York later in the month.
Cheryl Cook / AP
In this courtroom sketch, the front of the courtroom is blocked off as a sexually graphic video clip is played for the jury during R. Kelly’s trial in federal court Aug. 19, 2022, in Chicago.
Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune
Latoya Williams, left, of Chicago, and other fans, come out to support R&B star R. Kelly as he arrives at the Cook County Criminal Courts Building for closing arguments in his child pornography trial on June 12, 2008
Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune
Singer R. Kelly walks into court at the Daley Center for a hearing on his child support case on March 13, 2019, in Chicago.
Ovie Carter/Chicago Tribune
Singer R. Kelly appears in court on Sept. 20, 2002, for a status hearing on child pornography charges.
Lazarus Jean-Baptiste / CBS
“CBS This Morning” co-host Gayle King remains calm during her interview with the emotional R. Kelly in Chicago on March 5, 2019.
John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune
Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx describes what happened to alleged victims of R. Kelly after his bond hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on Feb. 23, 2019, in Chicago.
Heather Stone / Chicago Tribune
In this Dec. 21, 2007 file photo, R. Kelly arrives at the Cook County Criminal Courts building in Chicago to find out if the judge wants to revoke his bond or to deny permission to tour after missing a scheduled hearing.
Scott Strazzante/Chicago Tribune
Derrick Mosley, founder and president of the Bringing About Reform organization, destroys R. Kelly compact discs in front of WGCI radio headquarters on South Michigan Avenue on Jan. 28, 2002. Mosley called others to come together for a day of repudiation to protest the embattled singer and the radio station for blatant disrespect toward the community.
Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly arrives to the Daley Center in Chicago for a child support hearing on March 13, 2019.
E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune
Singer R. Kelly, right, appears at a hearing before Judge Lawrence Flood at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on March 22, 2019.
Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly arrives for his child support hearing at the Daley Center on March 6, 2019, in Chicago.
E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune
Assistant State’s Attorney Jennifer Gonzalez, center, responds to R. Kelly attorney Steve Greenberg, right, at Kelly’s hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago on May 7, 2019.
Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune
Najee Ali with anti-R. Kelly signs, laughs at the jeers and put downs by two women shouting in defense of Kelly outside the Cook County Criminal Courts Building, May 9, 2008, in Chicago.
John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune
A man motions for photographers to get out of the way as Joycelyn Savage and Azriel Clary exit after a bond hearing for Savage’s boyfriend, R. Kelly, at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on Feb. 23, 2019, in Chicago.
Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune
City inspectors from the Department of Buildings and Chicago Fire Department enter the from back door alley entrance to the studio space for musician R. Kelly on Jan. 16, 2019.
E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune
Singer R. Kelly, center, appears at a hearing before Judge Lawrence Flood at Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago on June 26, 2019.
Elizabeth Williams / AP
In this courtroom sketch, Kitti Jones, right, speaks during R. Kelly’s sentencing in federal court in New York on June 29, 2022. Kelly and his attorney Ashley Cohen are seated, background left. The former R&B superstar was convicted of racketeering and other crimes.
Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly follows his lawyer out of his studio Feb. 22, 2019.
Chuck Berman/Chicago Tribune
Singer Robert Kelly, known as R Kelly, leaves court with a phalanx of sheriff’s deputies on June 26, 2002. He pleaded not guilty to charges of child pornography.
John Bartley/for the Chicago Tribune
Singer R. Kelly performs at United Center on May 14, 1999.
David Banks/for the Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly performs at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont on June, 16, 2011.
E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly stands behind his attorney, Steven Greenberg, as Greenberg speaks to Judge Lawrence Flood at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on May 7, 2019.
Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly, center, arrives for his child support hearing at the Daley Center on March 6, 2019, in Chicago.
Scott Strazzante / Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly performs at Arie Crown Theatre in Chicago on Oct. 25, 2012.
Angela Weiss/Getty-AFP
Attorney Gloria Allred, who represented several of Chicago-born R&B singer R. Kelly’s victims, speaks before the sentencing hearing in New York on June 29, 2022.
Charles Cherney/Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly, nominated for five Grammy Awards in 1997, records at Chicago Trax Studio on Jan. 22, 1998.
Chuck Berman / Chicago Tribune
R&B star R. Kelly arrives at the Cook County Criminal Courts Building, Thursday, Dec. 20, 2007, in Chicago. Kelly was threatened with arrest after failing to appear in court Wednesday. (Chuck Berman/Chicago Tribune)
Cheryl Cook / Chicago Tribune
A courtroom sketch shows defense attorneys Ashley Cohen, from left, and Jennifer Bonjean with singer R. Kelly at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on Sept. 14, 2022.
Michael Tercha/Chicago Tribune
R&B star R. Kelly, 41, arrives at the Cook County Criminal Courts Building for his child pornography trial on May 20, 2008, in Chicago. The charges against Kelly stem from a 15-minute videotape that law-enforcement officials say he made with the alleged victim between Jan. 1, 1998, and Nov. 1, 2000.
Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune
Demonstrators rally in response to the R. Kelly allegations, Jan. 9, 2019, outside his recording studio in the West Loop.
Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly, center, appears at the Daley Center in Chicago on May 8, 2019, for a hearing in his child support case.
Brian Kersey/for the Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly performs at the Chicago Theatre on April 26, 2006.
Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune
Cook County State’s Attorney Kimberly Foxx announces charges against R&B superstar R. Kelly as Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson looks on at her office in Chicago on Feb. 22, 2019. Kelly was indicted on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly’s defense attorney Jennifer Bonjean speaks to the media at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago after verdicts were reached in Kelly’s trial on Sept. 14, 2022.
Nuccio DiNuzzo / Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly performs at Pitchfork Festival in Chicago on July 21, 2013.
Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly appears during a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse on Sept. 17, 2019.
John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune
Joycelyn Savage, center, and Azriel Clary, right, attend a bond hearing for R. Kelly at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on Feb. 23, 2019, in Chicago.
E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune
Steve Greenberg, attorney for R. Kelly, files a motion before Judge Lawrence Flood requesting law enforcement officials preserve all communications between prosecutors and attorney Michael Avenatti at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on April 1, 2019.
Barry Brecheisen/for the Chicago Tribune
R&B singer R. Kelly departs after his court appearance on May 18, 2007, for child pornography charges at the Leighton Criminal Court Building.
Carl Wagner/Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly is led from the Leighton Criminal Court Building by Chicago police officers to a waiting police car to be taken to the 10th District station on June 7, 2002.
Scott Strazzante / Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly performs at Arie Crown Theatre in Chicago on Oct. 25, 2012.
Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel
R. Kelly listens to Judge Karla Wright during his first appearance hearing on felony child pornography charges June 6, 2002, at the Polk County Courthouse in Bartow, Fla. The judge approved Kelly’s release from custody on $750,000 bail.
Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune
R. Kelly leaves Cook County Jail after posting bond at Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago on Feb. 25, 2019.
Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune
Musician R. Kelly, blue jacket, leaves the Cook County Jail on Feb. 25, 2019, after posting a $1 million bond.
E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune
1 of 63
Singer R. Kelly appears at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago on June 6, 2019, where he pleaded not guilty to new charges.
He’s serving his time in a medium-security federal prison facility in Butner, North Carolina, and is not eligible for release until the year 2045, records show.
Kelly also has a pending lawsuit against the Bureau of Prisons alleging a former employee leaked his jail calls and other information to a video blogger.
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com
Originally Published: June 10, 2025 at 9:45 AM CDT
