R. Kelly news: Did guards let him get beaten up by fellow prisoners?

It’s been over a year since R&B singer R.Kelly was taken into custody on multiple charges of child pornography, sexual assault, and obstruction of justice across Illinois, New York, and Minnesota. He’s currently being held without bail at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago while awaiting trial. R. Kelly’s luxurious, celebrity lifestyle has been replaced by a life behind bars – a brutal life behind bars.

Not so glamorous anymore

Kelly’s attorneys wrote a letter to the court saying Kelly is suffering “significant physical and psychological injuries” stemming from an attack on August 26th. They state the assault could have been “encouraged” by staffers at the facility, as corrections officers appeared unphazed in security footage where Kelly was beaten up by a fellow inmate. 

The report of the attack claims R. Kelly was ambushed by gang member Jeremiah Shane Farmer as he slept on the bottom bunk of his prison cell on August 26th. Farmer managed to enter Kelly’s cell, where he repeatedly stomped on the singer’s head. Eventually, the guards managed to stop Farmer by deploying pepper-spray.

Was it planned?

In a new report, R. Kelly’s attorney’s claim a much more sinister series of events took place in the security video: Farmer was able to “roam a great distance” away from the guards and “no one at the MCC raised a finger to stop Mr. Farmer from attacking Mr. Kelly until after Mr. Farmer was well into beating.”

The attorney added, “An unresolved issue remains as to whether MCC personnel encouraged, and then allowed, a beating of Mr. Kelly to take place. That alone merits an evidentiary hearing.”

The news report comes less than a month after R. Kelly was denied bail for the third time. Officials say Kelly poses a flight risk and his release could endanger the community.

Messing with the wrong man

Last month, R. Kelly’s attorneys requested to question Farmer under oath in hopes that he may provide details that could help with Kelly’s appeal. In addition to the beating, Kelly’s attorneys said they would also question Farmer on “the role that any MCC personnel played in that attack”. 

Farmer is a Latin Kings gang member currently serving a life sentence for a conspiracy connected to a 1999 double homicide. In 2019, Farmer was convicted for the deaths of Marion Lowry, 74, and Harvey Siegers, 67. He beat the two victims with a small sledgehammer inside their business, Calumet Auto Rebuilders, where the victims were found with severe blunt force trauma wounds to the head. 

Court records show that Farmer has a history of mental illness. In 2017, prosecutors suggested he undergo a psychiatric exam after Farmer revealed he was “suffering from a variety of mental illnesses.” He was later found fit to stand trial.

Is R. Kelly playing the victim?

According to court documents obtained by The Chicago Tribune, Farmer claimed he was “forced” to attack R. Kelly “in hopes of getting spotlight attention and world news notice to shed light on the government corruption.” Whether Farmer was forced to attack Kelly by his gang or another party, Kelly’s attorneys highlight the complacency of the MCC in the attack. 

“It appears that MCC personnel simply followed Mr. Farmer, allowed him to carry out the attack, and then only intervened after Mr. Kelly had already sustained serious injuries,” the court documents from last month stated.  

“Mr. Kelly was the victim of an unprovoked attack while incarcerated at the MCC because of who he is,” R. Kelly’s attorney Thomas Farinella said. “It’s clear the Bureau of Prisons cannot adequately accommodate the need to keep him safe.”

Unreliable

In Chicago, Kelly is accused of bribing victims & witnesses to change their stories. Kelly and his co-defendants allegedly paid to retrieve child pornography tapes before they were seized by prosecutors. In New York, prosecutors charged him with conspiracy related to picking up underage girls at concerts and grooming them for sexual abuse. 

Kelly has been charged with sexual abuse & sexual assault in Cook County. Minnesota prosecutors also hit Kelly with soliciting charges. He’s remained at the Metropolitan Correctional Center without bond ever since.