The 'I Believe I Can Fly' singer was allegedly beaten in Chicago's Metropolitan Correctional Center in August, prompting his lawyers to request an 'evidentiary hearing'.
- Oct 20, 2020
AceShowbiz - A judge has denied R. Kelly's request for a hearing after the singer was allegedly beaten in Chicago's Metropolitan Correctional Center in August.
Kelly's lawyers had requested an "evidentiary hearing" following the beating, which apparently left the singer with "significant physical and psychological injuries".
However, U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber ruled that the "concerning" incident "does not warrant immediate release".
"This single isolated incident does not suggest that the Bureau of Prisons is incapable of safely housing Mr. Kelly," he added in his ruling.
Judge Leinenweber also wrote that Jeremiah Farmer - the inmate allegedly responsible for beating Kelly - has since been transferred to a different facility.
"In any event, release from custody is not the appropriate remedy for such a wrong," he continued. "If Mr. Kelly wishes to challenge the conditions of his confinement or the MCC's ability to protect him, he can bring those claims in a separate civil action following proper exhaustion of administrative remedies."
The 53-year-old singer is currently awaiting trials in Illinois and New York on charges including sex-trafficking and child pornography, with Leinenweber adding that the courts still consider the disgraced star a flight risk and a danger to the community.
"Mr. Kelly has not demonstrated a change in circumstances that alters the court's previous conclusion that pretrial detention is necessary," he concluded.
The disgraced singer was attacked by Farmer on August 26. A prison employee said in a report that Farmer appeared to be on top of Kelly, "punching inmate Kelly repeatedly in the head and torso." A prison employee had to use pepper spray to end the alleged assault. Kelly was then moved to solitary confinement.
