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Looks like the Pied Piper of R&B will be spending some more time in jail. Singer R. Kelly appeared before a federal court in Chicago shackled at the ankles and sporting an orange jumpsuit on Tuesday. He entered a not-guilty plea on 18 counts of sexual misconduct and other charges. The judge, however, decided to keep him in police custody and denied bail all together, reports the Chicago Sun Times.
Kelly was in court on Friday answering to these charges which are based in Chicago and New York. This hearing was to determine whether or not he could be released from custody and given permission to stay at home with electronic monitoring. Instead, prosecutors successfully argued that that his fame, power, and alleged past sexual proclivity for minor girls are ample reasons why he should not be released.
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The singer “has a unique ability to influence and intimidate witnesses and victims, and that continues to this day,” said one of the assistant U.S. attorneys to Judge Harry Leinenweber at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse in Chicago.
As previously reported by theGrio, Kelly is looking at a minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 195 years in prison if convicted and those are just based on the charges pending in Chicago. New York state has a whole different game plan for him.
Kelly’s attorney Steven Greenberg decided to take a more creative approach to his defense explaining to the judge that the singer is of no risk of bouncing off the grid if released.
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“Unlike his most famous song, ‘I Believe I Can Fly,’ Mr. Kelly doesn’t like to fly,” Greenberg said.
Seriously?
“How could he flee? He has no money. They money’s in concerts and he doesn’t play concerts these days.”
Police arrested Kelly last early Thursday evening near his home at Trump Tower while walking his dogs. He will remain indefinitely at the Chicago’s Metropolitan Correctional Center.