R. Kelly sues the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Tasha K for leaking private info
The lawsuit claims a "secret" inquiry found that around 60 BOP officers accessed and shared unauthorized sensitive information about Kelly with the host of "Unwine With Tasha K."
R. Kelly has been the target of multiple lawsuits in recent years, but he’s turning the tables on the Federal Bureau of Prisons and video blogger Tasha K. for allegedly disclosing his private information.
HuffPost reported that Robert Kelly – the once chart-topping R&B star, now imprisoned convicted sex trafficker – claimed in a 28-page complaint filed with the U.S. District Court in Chicago that dozens of Prison Bureau officers illegally accessed his prison records and shared information with Tasha K — whose real name is Latasha Kebe, host of the celebrity gossip YouTube show, “Unwine with Tasha K,” and its channel, which has over 1 million subscribers.
Kelly’s lawsuit alleges that the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General conducted a “secret” investigation and discovered that “at least 60 BOP officers made unauthorized access to plaintiff’s sensitive, confidential, and private information maintained by the BOP.”
It details that one officer, designated as Officer A, unlawfully accessed Kelly’s data over 150 times, including email communication, phone conversations and guest visits. She allegedly sent some of the documents to herself before giving them to Kebe, violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
Kelly’s attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, said the officers’ alleged violations have affected how her client communicates with others. He is now suing for violations including negligence, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
“He had every right to be able to be confident, to think the BOP would protect his information and not exploit, but unfortunately, certain BOP officers did just that,” Bonjean said. “He does not feel comfortable to this day talking to anyone, even his own lawyers, because of the impact of this event.”
The lawsuit accuses Kebe of uploading phone call details between Kelly and women plus visitor logs and email contacts on her YouTube channel under the title “R. Kelly Can’t Control His Girlfriends While Behind Bars.”
The popular vlogger allegedly mobilized her extensive following to harass Kelly using stolen information, causing chaos in his personal life, per the lawsuit. In a nearly 40-minute video, she vaguely hints at having “the plug,” which gives her access to undisclosed information.
Kelly received a sentence of over 30 years in prison after a Brooklyn jury convicted him of racketeering and sex trafficking on Sept. 27, 2021, followed by a guilty verdict on child pornography charges from Chicago jurors on Sept. 14, 2022.
He is seeking a jury trial in the current case, which comes as he appeals his 2021 and 2022 convictions.
“Mr. Kelly must now bring this lawsuit to get answers and justice,” the Bonjean Law Group said in a statement to HuffPost, “because despite opening an investigation into the serious misconduct, the DOJ ultimately declined to indict the wrongdoers and allowed the misconduct to continue.”
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