R. Kelly contracts COVID-19 in prison

Convicted R&B singer R. Kelly has contracted COVID-19, according to his lawyer. Jennifer Bonjean, who has taken over as Kelly’s defense attorney since his federal racketeering conviction in New York, made the comment in a letter to the judge presiding over Kelly’s case there. She also said Kelly’s COVID-19 status “has already been publicly disclosed.” Bonjean told the Chicago Sun-Times on Tuesday that Kelly “has publicly disclosed it to third parties.” In her letter to the judge, Bonjean said the virus is among the factors that have delayed her ability to file post-trial motions in Kelly’s case. Kelly is being held in a Brooklyn detention center, where she said visits have been indefinitely suspended. Kelly was convicted by a federal jury in New York after a five-week trial that featured 45 government witnesses. His sentencing is set for May 4. He still faces criminal charges in Chicago’s federal court.