R Kelly’s request to leave prison due to the coronavirus pandemic has been denied .
The singer is currently in jail in Chicago on charges involving the sexual abuse of minors.
His legal team argued that R Kelly’s life is ‘at risk’ during the outbreak due to the jail’s few health and safety efforts when it comes to dealing with the virus.
They cited his age and pre-existing health issues as to why he should be placed in home confinement.
On Tuesday District Judge Ann Donnelly denied the 53-year-old’s release stating that he is a ‘flight risk’.
According to Variety, she wrote: ‘The defendant is currently in custody because of the risks that he will flee or attempt to obstruct, threaten or intimidate prospective witnesses.
‘The defendant has not explained how those risks have changed.’
The Ignition singer’s lawyers claimed that hand sanitiser and soap are sparse in the Metropolitan Correctional Centre (MCC) and inmates are put in small cells with a cellmate despite social distancing rules outside the jail.
His ‘existing health issues’ were not expanded on, but the file insisted they were in line with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s high-risk category.
R Kelly recently faced fresh sex crime allegations via federal prosecutors in New York City.
The I Believe I Can Fly singer is already awaiting trial in Brooklyn, where he faces charges including sex trafficking, racketeering and child pornography. The star also has pending cases in Minnesota.
Now, two new alleged victims – listed as Jane Doe #5 and Jane Doe #6 – have come forward in NYC, with one claiming she was under 18 when she claims she had sex with him in 2015.
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