R. Kelly denied bail, trial date set for May 2020

Washington: A Brooklyn judge denied bail to singer-songwriter R. Kelly in his sex abuse case after the accused artist requested to be released while awaiting trial.
The singer’s lawyers asked a federal judge earlier this week if he would reconsider his decision to hold Kelly in jail without bond, according to the Chicago Tribune, reported People.
While his lawyers argued that even if the 52-year-old singer was out on bail he does not have the funds to leave the country, new legal documents obtained by TMZ state prosecutors believe that the star is still deemed a flight risk.
The outlet cited prosecutors who alleged that following Kelly’s release on bail in Illinois, he attempted to travel to Dubai with two of his girlfriends and that he continues to earn thousands of dollars in music royalties, which he allegedly has been redirecting to a friend’s bank account.
According to Page Six, Kelly was not present in court on Wednesday for Brooklyn federal Judge Ann Donnelly’s decision. Donnelly noted that she found Kelly’s finances to be “murky, to say the least,” and if he was to be released on bail there would be “nothing to deter him” from threatening the witnesses in the case.
On Monday, an 11-page motion was filed in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn in which Kelly’s lawyer, Steven Greenberg, complained about the unfair restrictions for his client while being held in the general population at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in downtown Chicago, the Chicago Tribune, as cited by People.