R. Kelly can't get out of jail because of the coronavirus pandemic, a judge has decided.
Kelly, the disgraced R&B star who faces charges related to his alleged sexual abuse of minors, is awaiting trial, and his attorneys requested he be released from the Chicago Metropolitan Correctional Center due to fears surrounding the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
But U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly on Tuesday denied his bid, saying he is in custody "because of the risks that he will flee or attempt to obstruct, threaten or intimidate prospective witnesses" and he "has not explained how those risks have changed," Variety reports.
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The judge said that while she is "sympathetic" to Kelly's "anxiety" over the coronavirus, he has "not established compelling reasons" to be released, noting there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 at the facility where he's being held. She also denied the argument that the prison's restrictions on visits are preventing him from preparing for his trial, saying it "appears unlikely" to proceed as scheduled in July and he can continue speaking with his lawyers via phone and email.
Previously, a judge denied a bid from President Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen to leave prison because of coronavirus concerns, saying he must "accept the consequences of his criminal convictions." But rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine, who has asthma, recently secured an early release because of the pandemic, with a judge deciding he would serve out of the rest of his sentence on charges including racketeering at home "in light of the heightened medical risk." Bill Cosby has also cited the coronavirus pandemic in asking to be let out of prison.
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