Lawyers representing R. Kelly said Friday that jail staff stood by as an inmate attacked the singer in his cell in August.
Attorney Michael Leonard asked yet again for Kelly’s release from the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in Illinois. Leonard wrote in court documents that inmate Jeremiah Farmer, 39, “roamed a great distance” in the facility — and nobody “raised a finger” to stop Farmer from attacking Kelly, 53, until he was well into the beatdown, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
“An unresolved issue remains as to whether Metropolitan Correctional Center personnel encouraged, and then allowed, a beating of Mr. Kelly to take place,” the singer’s lawyers wrote in Friday’s motion, per the Chicago Tribune.
Kelly’s team said surveillance footage supports their allegations. They also stated that the singer sustained “significant physical and psychological injuries” from the August 26 incident, according to the news outlet.
Kelly’s lawyer, Steve Greenberg, alleged that Farmer crept into Kelly’s cell as he slept and stomped on his head. He also claimed the inmate — who has “F**k the feds” tattooed on his face — had a pen and intended to stab the singer.
Reports indicated that a prison employee used pepper spray to stop the attack, and Farmer was subsequently placed in solitary confinement.
Farmer, a member of the Latin Kings, was convicted last year of a racketeering conspiracy related to the 1999 murders of Marion Lowry, 74, and Harvey Sieger, 67. He was initially charged with beating the men to death with a hammer at their auto business.
The Sun-Times reported that Farmer had told police he intended to confess to the double slaying as he wants to die via lethal injection.
Farmer, who was ultimately relocated to a facility in Michigan, identified himself as Kelly’s attacker in court documents. He wrote that Kelly let out a “horrifying scream” during the assault which transpired in Kelly’s cell.
Farmer claimed to have assaulted Kelly to shed light on government corruption. However, initial reports suggested Farmer assaulted Kelly because the federal detention facility was placed on lockdown a couple of times due to people protesting outside for Kelly’s release.
Kelly has been jailed in Illinois since July 2019 for 26 federal charges which include child pornography, obstruction of justice, and sexual abuse of a minor. He is also facing 21 sex-related criminal charges in Cook County. The state charges reportedly stem from allegations dating back to 1998 and involve at least three underage girls.
Additionally, Kelly is facing multiple federal charges in New York for allegedly infecting a woman and minor girl with herpes, racketeering, and sex trafficking that reportedly crossed state lines.
In August 2019, authorities in Minnesota charged Kelly with two counts of prostitution with a person under 18 in connection with an alleged 2001 incident.
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[Featured image: Jeremiah Farmer/Lake County Sheriff’s Department; R. Kelly/Cook County Sheriff’s Office]
