Tyrese shared a note of condolences on the passing of his mother from jailed R&B icon, R. Kelly, who is currently incarcerated on sexual assault convictions. Tyrese Receives Note From R. Kelly Respect for “The King of R&B” is at an all-time high according to Tyrese who said he received a warm note of condolences […]
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The Chicago Tribune reports that R. Kelly, who was recently convicted on charges of racketeering in New York, has dismissed his Chicago-based legal team to employ the attorney who successfully appealed Bill Cosby’s conviction as his defense for his upcoming Chicago sex abuse case. Calling into court from the Brooklyn jail where he’s awaiting sentencing in his prior conviction, Kelly told US District Judge Harry Leinenweber that he was switching representation to Jennifer Bonjean for the August trial.
Bonjean represented Cosby’s appeal in Pennsylvania after he was convicted of sexual assault in 2018. The conviction was overturned by a split court which found that Cosby had been unfairly prosecuted due to an agreement made with a previous district attorney in exchange for his cooperation in a civil lawsuit from one of his alleged victims. The incriminating statements he made while under this agreement were used as a driving factor in his eventual conviction, which caused justices reviewing the appeal to write, “Denying the defendant the benefit of that decision is an affront to fundamental fairness, particularly when it results in a criminal prosecution that was foregone for more than a decade.”
Bonjean is already working on Kelly’s New York appeal, for which he was granted an extension due to a COVID-19 diagnosis. However, she’ll have little time to get up to speed on the Chicago case; Kelly’s two co-defendants, Derrel McDavid and Milton “June” Brown, want the case to proceed to trial on schedule. Meanwhile, Kelly could receive up to 10 years in federal prison when he’s sentenced in May. Meanwhile, his Chicago case primarily revolves around his efforts to bribe or coerce witnesses in his 2008 child pornography trial. Incidentally, Cosby says he believes R. Kelly was railroaded.
R. Kelly has cut ties with his Chicago-based legal team in order to hire the attorney who appealed Bill Cosby’s conviction.
In a telephone conference on Wednesday with U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber, Kells said he wanted Jennifer Bonjean to represent him in the case, which is set for a jury trial August 1, 2022.
In Chicago, Kelly is facing charges of federal child pornography and obstruction of justice. There’s also separate aggravated criminal sexual abuse charges in Cook County, Illinois. He has two co-defendants, Derrel McDavid and Milton “June” Brown, whom are long time associates.
Earlier this month, Kelly’s three trial attorneys from the New York case also withdrew their appearances.
Bonjean was already working on an appeal for the 12 Play singer’s New York case and is due to file post-trial motions before U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly this week.
The convicted R&B singer is still awaiting sentencing in a New York City federal jail after being convicted of racketeering. He was also found guilty of crimes including sex with underage girls.
His original Chicago-based attorneys, Steve Greenberg and Michael Leonard told ABC Chicago, “The Chicago case, unfortunately for Robert, is far more serious.” “The Chicago case actually carries much more severe penalties than the New York case,” Greenberg said.
His sentencing for the Brooklyn verdict is set for May 4. He faces between 10 years and life in prison.
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It’s been about five months since R. Kelly was found guilty of his racketeering and sex trafficking charges and sentenced to eight years in prison, but he’s been behind bars without bail since his 2019 arrest. That means the disgraced R&B has spent the entirety of the pandemic in jail — and he’s just now tested positive for COVID-19.
Kelly caught COVID while in a federal jail in Brooklyn, according to a report from Rolling Stone. While his attorneys haven’t given an update on the status of the singer’s health, a judge did grant him an important extension due to his positive COVID test. US District Judge Ann M. Donnelly ruled on Tuesday that Kelly can have an extra two weeks to file an appeal in his federal racketeering case. That means he has until February 17 to formally fight his September conviction which found him guilty of all eight counts of child sex trafficking and one count of federal racketeering.
Kelly’s new lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean informed the court of the singer’s COVID status, saying it interfered with his ability to participate in his appeal. “It is vitally important that Mr. Kelly meaningfully participate in his post-trial defense,” Bonjean wrote in an official letter to the court. “The (jail) has not indicated when visits will resume which is less than ideal, but undersigned counsel is confident that she can accomplish necessary discussions with Mr. Kelly via upcoming scheduled Zoom visits.”
According to Billboard, Michael Williams of Valdosta, Georgia, was sentenced yesterday to eight years in prison for burning a car to intimidate a witness in R. Kelly’s then-upcoming trial for sex trafficking. Wiliams, who prosecutors said was related to Kelly’s former publicist, apparently went to Florida in 2020 and set fire to the car outside of the home where a witness was staying.
The vehicle apparently belonged to the woman’s father. According to reports, Williams left a note on the SUV that read, “It might be wise for you to protect your daughter from heartache she’s gonna endure through this and after. She had to live with every stain you guys create publicly.” Williams’ search history was also used as evidence, showing that he’d looked up how to make explosives, as well as witness intimidation and witness tampering laws, and countries that do not have extradition agreements with the United States.
Williams wasn’t the only one who was found guilty of witness intimidation. In February, Richard Arline Jr., a longtime friend of Kelly’s, pled guilty to charges of bribery after offering one of the women accusing Kelly $500,000 in exchange for her ceasing cooperation with the authorities.
Incidentally, all those efforts eventually went to waste; In September, R. Kelly was found guilty of sex trafficking and racketeering in federal court in Brooklyn, with his sentence to be determined at a future date. He still faces trial in Chicago on similar charges.
R. Kelly will be able to keep his three Grammy awards, for the time being. The Recording Academy’s Harvey Mason Jr. spoke to the Chicago Sun-Times and addressed rumors that the singer would have the awards revoked as a result of his recent conviction on sex trafficking and racketeering charges. “I think it’s something that we’re going to need to take a good hard look at, have a lot of conversations about, work through and make a decision,” he said. “But right now, I think it’s something that is going to take a little bit more consideration before we can really dictate or decide.”
Mason Jr. added, “My initial feeling is we’re probably not a business that we want to be in of taking people’s awards back after they’ve been given. But we’ll take a good look at it and see.”
Kelly received his three Grammys came back in 1997, when he won in three different categories for “I Believe I Can Fly,” his hit song from the Space Jam soundtrack.
The singer was specifically convicted on one count of racketeering and eight counts of sex trafficking, with each accounting for his violations of the Mann Act, a law that makes it illegal to move someone across state lines “for any immoral purpose.” The sentencing portion of the case will begin on May 4, 2022, where he faces between 10 years and life in prison.
Kelly was reportedly put on suicide watch after his conviction. His lawyer, however, confirmed days later that he had been removed from the categorization.
