R Kelly attacked in prison by fellow inmate, attorney claims

Singer is due to face trial in September on numerous sex crime charges

R Kelly has been attacked by another inmate in prison, his attorney has claimed.

The singer was allegedly attacked on Wednesday (26 August) at Metropolitan Correctional Centre in Chicago, where he is awaiting trial after pleading not guilty to dozens of state and federal sex crime charges.

Kelly’s attorney Steve Greenberg made the claims on Twitter as he demanded that the “Ignition” musician be released from jail ahead of his trial, which is scheduled to begin in New York in September.

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

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

R Kelly appears during a hearing in Chicago, Illinois, 17 September 2019 (Getty Images)

Kelly, 53, was originally due to face trial on 7 July, but his trial date was pushed back to the end of September due to the coronavirus pandemic.

He is facing charges for multiple offences, including sex trafficking, child pornography and racketeering, in New York, Minnesota and Illinois.

Earlier in August, three men were charged with threatening, intimidating or attempting to silence Kelly’s alleged victims, with one accused of setting fire to a vehicle outside the residence where an accuser was staying.

Additional reporting by PA