Lawyers for R. Kelly claim wrongdoing by prosecutors, say imprisoned singer's life in danger
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.
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
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
an hour ago
- CBS News
Grant Park Music Festival begins 2025 season with "Rhapsody in Blue"
The 101-year-old classic "Rhapsody in Blue" filled Chicago's front lawn Wednesday night, during the first performance of the year for the Grant Park Music Festival. The free concert was held at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. "Rhapsody in Blue" may make you think of United Airlines and the cascading neon lights of the Sky's the Limit installation at the United Terminal at O'Hare International Airport, or it may inspire you close your eyes imagine Jazz Age New York City. On Wednesday night, crowds enjoyed George Gershwin's groundbreaking 1924 fusion of classical and jazz to the sight of Chicago's majestic skyline — the Aon Center and One and Two Prudential Plaza to the north, the Diamond Building and the historic buildings of the Michigan Avenue Streetwall to the west. Conductor and pianist Andrew Litton led the Grant Park Orchestra in the performance of "Rhapsody in Blue" Wednesday night. The program also included "Three Latin Ameriacn Dances" by Gabriela Lena Frank, and Suites from "The Three-Cornered Hat," by Manuel de Falla. On Friday and Saturday evening this week, Christopher Bell leads the Grand Park Orchestra in Gustav Holst's "The Planets." On Wednesday of next week, newly appointed Grant Park Music Festival artistic director and principal conductor Giancarlo Guerrero leads the orchestra in a program headlined by Felix Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto, featuring Jeremy Black on violin. On Friday, June 20, and Saturday, June 21, Guerrero leads the orchestra in Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 1. From classics to movie scores and more, the festival is putting on performances just about every week this summer. The full concert schedule for the summer can be found at the Grant Park Music Festival website.
CBS News
an hour ago
- CBS News
Freight train burglaries, sales of stolen cargo are a lucrative business, authorities say
Last fall, CBS Skywatch was overhead as thieves pulled off a freight train heist on Chicago's West Side. The wild scene played out for hours as several freight train cars were broken into, and dozens of people walked away with big-screen TVs. In that October incident, police sources said Chicago police officers waited more than an hour for Union Pacific officers to respond and secure the tracks. Since then, there have been several more similar incidents, including one just last week in west suburban Bellwood. Hundreds of cardboard boxes ended up littered across the tracks after thieves broke in and stole valuable items. Cargo thieves usually target items that are in high demand or have big price tags. The stolen goods are then sold at 100% profit, with ads popping up on social media with what may seem like offers too good to be true. "It's a lucrative business," said Cmdr. Michael Ware, head of the Cook County Sherriff's Office Organized Retail Crime Unit. "You know, there's a lot of money to be made." Inside an unassuming storefront on Chicago's South Side, the Cook County Sheriff's office said it just recovered $400,000 worth of stolen exercise equipment. All of it was snatched from train cars in Joliet earlier this year, according to Ware, who investigates such train burglaries in his role. "It's like a mini-store. Mini-Home Depot, essentially," said Ware. "A lot of times, the retail theft can lead to, you know, gun recoveries and other criminal activity. It's just like the gateway crime." Isadore House, 57, was arrested and charged with selling the stolen merchandise. The rate of cargo thefts is also increasing. According to Verisk, a firm that tracks cargo thefts, this year there is an average of 338 theft reports per month — up from 136 in recent years. This year, Chicago has experienced the third highest volume of cargo thefts, behind Southern California and Dallas. House will be in court on Thursday.
CBS News
an hour ago
- CBS News
Video shows 2023 CTA Yellow Line crash that sent 16 people to hospital
CBS News Chicago has obtained video from inside the Chicago Transit Authority Yellow Line train that crashed in November 2023. From multiple angles, the video shows the exact moment of the crash that sent 16 people to the hospital. The two-car train crashed into a snow plow around 10:30 a.m. Nov. 17, 2023, on the main tracks adjacent to the Howard rail yard in Rogers Park. The NTSB said one operator and 30 passengers were on the Yellow Line train at the time of the crash, Officials at the time of the crash said everyone on the train — originally reported as 38 people — was hurt. The NTSB said a total of 16 people were treated and released from area hospitals, and three people were in critical condition after the crash — including the train operator. Six other people were on board the snow plow. Back in February, the National Transportation Safety Board released its final report on the crash. The report said the operator of the train was only given seconds' notice to go from 55 mph to a full stop. Meanwhile, leaves on the tracks made for slippery conditions, and the CTA had disabled an automatic braking feature. The report also found that while the operator did have alcohol in his system, but this was not to blame for the crash. The crash caused $8.7 million in damage. The CTA Yellow Line-Skokie Swift did not resume operations until January 2024 — seven weeks after the crash.
