Posted by Chicago, IL – R. Kelly reportedly found himself on the receiving end of a jailhouse jab this week. According to TMZ, the embattled R&B singer was attacked and punched repeatedly by an agitated inmate inside his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago.
Federal law enforcement sources said Kelly was sitting on his bed when another inmate walked in his cell and started pummeling Kelly. He was allegedly upset the facility was placed on lockdown several times partly due to Kelly protesters outside the MCC.
While it’s unclear how long the fight lasted, Kelly walked away unscathed. A spokesperson for the Federal Bureau Of Prisons declined to comment because it’s against policy to discuss an individual inmate’s conditions of confinement or medical status due to privacy and safety reasons.
Kelly surrendered to authorities at the Cook County Jail in February 2019 after being charged with multiple sex crimes. In total, Chicago prosecutors hit the 53-year-old artist with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. Nine of the 10 counts involve alleged victims ranging in age from 13 to 16 years old.
The Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number producer is also facing charges in New York City. In March, federal prosecutors in Brooklyn filed a superseding indictment against Kelly, charging him with nine counts (including racketeering) and eight violations of the Mann Act, which prohibits sexual trafficking across state lines. Last August, he was charged with two additional sex crimes in Minnesota as well.
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In Illinois alone, Kelly is looking at serious time if convicted. The criminal sexual abuse charge is a Class 2 felony in the state and each charge carries a maximum sentence of three to seven years in prison.