R. Kelly's Federal Trial In Chicago Scheduled For Next April
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A federal judge has set a tentative trial date for next April for singer R. Kelly, who is facing sexual abuse, child pornography, and obstruction of justice charges in Chicago.
U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber scheduled Kelly's trial to begin April 27, 2020. The trial is expected to last about three weeks.
Defense attorneys suggested they might have a difficult time getting ready for a trial by next April, based on the amount of evidence federal prosecutors are turning over, and the fact Kelly faces three other criminal cases in Cook County, New York, and Minnesota.
One of Kelly's lawyers, Mike Leonard, said prosecutors have produced 30 to 50 disks of evidence, and the defense team expects to file motions challenging some of that evidence but needs time to comb through the files first. At the same time, they'll be dealing with evidence in the other cases as well.
"On the one hand, we're trying to develop an overall strategy for all the cases, but we have to be responsive on each case to the judge's deadlines in that particular case. So it kind of makes things difficult from a logistical standpoint," Leonard said.
Kelly has been in federal custody since July 11, when he was arrested in connection with two separate federal cases in Chicago and New York.
The federal indictment in Chicago charges him with 13 felony counts including child pornography, enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity, and obstruction of justice.
According to the charges in Chicago, Kelly sexually abused five girls in the late 1990s, made videos of four of the victims, and then paid hush money and made threats to cover up his sex crimes.
The charges also include allegations he paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to recover tapes of him sexually abusing the girl at the center of his 2008 child pornography trial and coerced the victim to lie about what happened.
Federal prosecutors have suggested they could file a more far-ranging indictment in the case against Kelly and two associates, potentially adding new charges and additional defendants.
Meantime, Kelly's defense attorneys plan to ask a judge to release him on bond once his two live-in girlfriends find a new place to live after moving out of his Trump Tower condo.
"A place that's appropriate; that will be safe for him and that can house the women that are part of his relationship – so we can't tell you where he'd be living," Leonard told CBS 2's Megan Hickey.
A hearing on that request has been scheduled for Sept. 18.
The singer had been placed in the special housing unit at the Metropolitan Correctional Center after his arrest on federal charges, but was moved to the general population on Tuesday.
Federal prosecutors had pushed back on Kelly's claims he was unfairly being held in solitary confinement, writing in court documents that the singer himself had refused a transfer to the general population, and has had a cellmate for weeks, despite initially refusing one.
While the issue of where Kelly will be housed at the federal jail might now be moot, Kelly's attorneys are still asking a judge to reconsider a ruling that he be held without bail.
Calling the latest allegations against Kelly "as stale as old gym socks," his defense team has argued he is not a flight risk and not a danger to the public and deserves to be granted bail.
"It is clear that Mr. Kelly is being punished because of the crime of which he is charged and because of his celebrity status," his attorneys wrote in their request for bail.
The singer's attorneys have noted he did not miss a single court date in more than three years before he was acquitted of child pornography charges in Cook County in 2008 and argued that he could be placed on home monitoring to guarantee he doesn't miss a court date.
They also said any suggestion he has the means to obstruct any of the witnesses against him "frankly preposterous."
"Mr. Kelly no longer has the money or the entourage he once did to help him in his endeavors. Home incarceration with close monitoring by pretrial services and limited access to the internet will make it virtually impossible to attempt to contact any witnesses without being caught," his attorneys wrote.
However, prosecutors have argued that new federal charges in Chicago and New York – on the heels of separate sexual assault charges in Cook County – "amps up the defendant's incentive to flee."
In the New York case, Kelly is accused of racketeering and Mann Act violations, which involve transporting a person across state lines to engage in illegal sexual activity. The racketeering case also accuses him of kidnapping, sexual exploitation of a child and forced labor.
"He is now for the very first time facing a mandatory minimum of 10 years' imprisonment and up to a maximum of 195 years on the Illinois indictment alone. On top of that, New York has a possible sentence of up to 80 years. And that changes everything," prosecutors wrote.
Federal prosecutors also have argued that home monitoring would not be sufficient to prevent Kelly from trying to influence witnesses against him.
"Defendant could easily obstruct justice from the comfort of his own home even if he has an ankle bracelet, but not so from the MCC where his communications will be monitored," they wrote.
Even if the judge in the federal case in Chicago were to grant Kelly bail, the judge in the New York case also has denied the singer bond, so his attorneys would face another hurdle to get Kelly set free before his federal trials.
Meantime, a Cook County judge is aiming for a trial early next year on the sexual abuse charges Kelly faces in state court, but no trial date has been set. Prosecutors have not decided which of four cases they will pursue first.
Kelly was first indicted on 10 counts of criminal sexual abuse in February, accusing him of abusing four different victims. In May, prosecutors filed upgraded charges involving one of those victims; including aggravated criminal sexual assault, criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse. The four aggravated criminal sex assault charges are class X felonies and carry prison terms of up to 30 years if he's convicted.
At a hearing in June, Cook County Judge Lawrence Flood said he would like to set a trial date for early next year. Because Kelly is accused of sexually abusing four victims, prosecutors must first decide which of those cases to take to trial first.
Kelly also faces prostitution charges in Minnesota.
Kelly has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.
