R. Kelly has been sitting behind bars for over a year at this point and every time he's made to get out has been denied. The singer's decades-old allegations of sexual abuse came back to bite him in 2019 in the wake of Surviving R. Kelly. As expected, his stint behind bars hasn't been rosy. A few months ago, it was revealed that he was attacked in prison and he's continued to use this as some sort of leverage to be released on bond, even though he's been denied countless times.
Kelly's legal team filed court documents claiming that their client was beaten down in prison without anyone having "raised a finger" to intervene the singer from getting harmed. According to documents obtained by CNN, Kelly's lawyers claimed surveillance footage from MCC in Chicago reveals an inmate had "roamed a great distance ... 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," Michael Leonard, one of Kelly's attorneys, wrote. "That alone merits an evidentiary hearing."
Jeremiah Farner, the man claiming to have beat R. Kelly, said that the incident was done to raise awareness on his own case. One of the guards, D. Szyhowskim, allegedly met up with Farmer ahead of the attack in his office. Farmer reportedly ignored the guard's orders to stay in his office, finding a way to Kelly's cell and beating him. Szyhowski said he intervened by using pepper spray on Farmer to get him off of Kelly.
The singer's team now wants to question Farmer.