R Kelly was reportedly placed on suicide watch after being found guilty of federal sex crimes last month, the Chicago Tribune reports.
During a preliminary hearing on Wednesday, Kelly’s attorney, Steve Greenberg, told U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber that, “after he was found guilty [Kelly] was placed under suicide watch,” but that has since been lifted.
On Sept. 27, Kelly was found guilty of one count of racketeering rooted in alleged sexual exploitation of children, kidnapping, and forced labor, and eight counts of of violating the Mann Act, which essentially criminalizes prostitution across state lines.
Kelly had been accused of sexually abusing more than 20 people, with accusations dating back to the 1990s. Back in September, one woman who accused Kelly of having sexual intercourse with her when she was 14 or 15 said she walked in on the singer performing oral sex on Aaliyah when she was a teen.
“Today’s guilty verdict forever brands R. Kelly as a predator, who used his fame and fortune to prey on the young, the vulnerable, and the voiceless for his own sexual gratification,” Acting U.S. Attorney Jacquelyn M. Kasulis said in a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice. “A predator who used his inner circle to ensnare underage teenage girls, and young women and men, for decades, in a sordid web of sex abuse, exploitation and degradation.”
Greenberg also said that Kelly is looking to completely retool his legal team. “I think he’s talking about bringing in new lawyers in New York,” he told Leinenweber.
Kelly is scheduled to be sentenced on May 4, 2022 and is facing a mandatory minimum of 10 years all the way up to life in prison.
