A video of R. Kelly being punched by another inmate in jail shows that not one guard “raised a finger” to help him until the attack was well underway, his lawyers claim in a new court filing.
Kelly, who was being held in Chicago’s Metropolitan Correctional Center on federal sex abuse charges, was assaulted in August by Jeremiah Farmer, who had punched the singer repeatedly to get media attention for himself, CNN reported.
The assault left R Kelly with “significant physical and psychological injuries,” the filing said. His lawyers have not released the video.
A guard, identified by center officials as “D. Szyhowski,” ordered Farmer to stop beating Kelly and sprayed Farmer with pepper spray, CNN reported, citing a Bureau of Prison report.
In their filing Friday, Kelly’s attorneys wrote that Farmer “roamed a great distance within the MCC before carrying out that act, without any opposition.
“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.”
Kelly is facing federal and state charges in Illinois, including child pornography and aggravated criminal sexual abuse, and federal charges in New York, including racketeering and sex trafficking. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
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