R. Kelly attacked by fellow detainee at federal lockup in Chicago, attorney says

Embattled R&B superstar R. Kelly was assaulted by a fellow detainee at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago, according to his lawyer.

Kelly’s attorney Steve Greenberg tweeted Thursday that he learned of the attack a day earlier.

“We received conflicting reports as to the extent of his injuries. We have not been provided any information from the jail, nor has Mr. Kelly called,” Greenberg wrote. “We are hopeful that he was not seriously injured.”

A spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Prisons wouldn’t confirm or deny the report.

“For privacy, safety, and security reasons, we do not comment on an individual inmate’s conditions of confinement or medical status,” the agency said in a statement.

In another tweet, Greenberg lobbied again for Kelly’s release from custody as the singer awaits trial on a litany of criminal charges across multiple jurisdictions, including federal indictments in Illinois and New York alleging racketeering, sexual exploitation of children and child pornography. He also faces charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in Cook County and soliciting a minor and prostitution in Minnesota.

“The government cannot ensure his safety, and they cannot give him his day in court,” he said. “We should not incarcerate people indefinitely because we cannot provide them with due process!”

Kelly, 53, whose real name is Robert Kelly, has been held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center downtown since his arrest last summer. His attorneys have tried repeatedly to spring him from custody, most recently citing the coronavirus pandemic.