June 23, 2021- 9:55 a.m.
Hip-Hop artiest
R. Kelly has been moved to federal custody in Brooklyn from Chicago ahead of his imminent trial on sex trafficking charges.
It was not immediately clear exactly when the one-time R&B superstar was moved, but federal Bureau of Prisons records show Kelly is now housed at the Metropolitan Detention Center.
A judge approved the move in April, saying sufficient precautions were in place after the pandemic to let the trial move forward later this summer.
The 54-year-old Kelly has been in custody in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in downtown Chicago since he was indicted in July 2019 on federal child pornography, obstruction of justice and racketeering charges.
Kelly has denied ever abusing anyone and has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him. He faces several dozen counts of state and federal sexual misconduct charges in Illinois, Minnesota and New York, from sexual assault to heading a racketeering scheme aimed at supplying Kelly with girls.
Prosecutors in Brooklyn allege Kelly led an enterprise made up of his managers, bodyguards and other employees who helped him recruit women and girls for sex. A jury is expected to hear testimony from alleged victims, each identified in court papers only as “Jane Doe.”
Kelly has denied the sex trafficking allegations. His attorneys have said their client is looking forward to the trial.
