R. Kelly Attacked By Fellow Inmate At Metropolitan Correctional Center, Singer's Attorney Says

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A fellow inmate attacked R. Kelly in the federal lockup in Chicago, according to the embattled singer's attorney.

Kelly, 53, is being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in downtown Chicago, as he awaits multiple trials in federal and state court on sex crime charges in Chicago, New York, and Minneapolis. His attorney, Steve Greenberg, posted on Twitter that he was informed Wednesday that another inmate attacked Kelly in jail.

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

A spokesperson for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons declined to confirm or deny the attack on Kelly.

"For privacy, safety, and security reasons, we do not comment on an individual inmate's conditions of confinement or medical status," Bureau of Prisons spokesperson Emery Nelson wrote in an email.

For months, Greenberg has unsuccessfully tried to convince the federal courts to release Kelly on home confinement and electronic monitoring, arguing he is diabetic and at higher risk of contracting COVID-19 behind bars. But a federal judge has repeatedly denied Greenberg's requests to grant Kelly bail, and Greenberg has since taken his bid to a federal appeals court.

Kelly faces sex crime charges in four separate jurisdictions in Chicago, New York, and Minnesota.

Federal charges in New York accuse Kelly of using his fame to recruit young women and girls for illegal sexual activity. The racketeering case also accuses him of kidnapping, sexual exploitation of a child, and forced labor. Jury selection in that case had been scheduled to begin on Sept. 29, but the trial date has since been postponed indefinitely, due in large part to the pandemic.

Federal prosecutors in Chicago have charged him with videotaping himself having sex with underage girls, and paying hush money and intimidating witnesses to cover up his crimes. That trial had been scheduled for October, but also has been postponed indefinitely.

Cook County prosecutors have charged Kelly with multiple counts of sexual assault and sexual abuse against four women years ago. The first of those trials is scheduled for September, but it's unclear if it will move forward at that time.

Minnesota prosecutors have charged him with engaging in prostitution with an underage girl. No trial date has been set in that case.

It's unclear if any of Kelly's trials will be held as currently scheduled, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

If convicted of all the charges, Kelly could face the rest of his life in prison.

In another tweet, Greenberg said "it is time to release Mr. Kelly" because of the attack.

"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!" he wrote.