Federal authorities are pushing back on R. Kelly’s claims that he was placed on suicide watch as a form of punishment last week after a judge sentenced him to 30 years behind bars for using his fame to sexually abuse young girls.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn filed court papers late Saturday (July 2) saying the disgraced R&B superstar remains on suicide watch “for his own safety” following a psychological assessment.
Kelly’s “current life circumstances undoubtedly bring emotional distress,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Melanie Speight wrote in a court filing.
He is a convicted sex offender who has been sentenced to spend the next three decades in prison. In the immediate future, he faces another federal criminal trial in Chicago for charges related to child pornography.
Kelly’s attorney filed a lawsuit Friday alleging prison officials placed him on suicide watch at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center “solely for punitive purposes and because of his status as a high-profile inmate,” adding that Kelly has had no thoughts of harming himself.
Three decades of being locked up can’t compare to the pain he’s brought to the women and kids he had violated.
(SOURCE: BILLBOARD)