R.Kelly was reportedly been placed on suicide watch after a jury found him guilty of federal sex crimes last month.
On Wednesday, during the preliminary hearing, Steven Greenberg, Kelly’s attorney informed the U.S District Judge Harry Leinenweber that his client was “placed under suicide watch after he was found guilty.” The hold has since been lifted.
The disgraced singer was found guilty of one count of racketeering in the sexual exploitation of children, kidnapping, and forced labor, and eight counts of violating the Mann Act, which criminalizes prostitution across state lines.
He has been accused of sexually abusing more than 20 people dating back to the 1990s. “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,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Jacquelyn M. Kasulis in a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
She continued, “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.”
R.Kelly is set to be sentenced on May 4th, 2022, and faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison.