R. Kelly denied release for the third time.
Singer R. Kelly has once again been denied request for temporary release amid the coronavirus pandemic. This is the third time R. Kelly's request for temporary release is turned down A U.S. district judge in New York on Friday denied R. Kelly 's third request for temporary release amid the coronavirus pandemic. Kelly, 53, faces sex crime charges in four separate jurisdictions in Chicago, New York, and Minnesota. Kelly is being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in downtown Chicago. The Bureau of Prisons said there are currently 18 confirmed active COVID-19 cases among inmates and 14 among jail staff; while 122 inmates and 16 staff have recovered from the virus. Kelly's lawyers argued medical tests showed he is "likely diabetic," and at a higher risk of contacting COVID-19 or a severe illness. But Judge Ann Donnelly said she did not believe prediabeties presents a "compelling reason for the defendant's release."