Jailed R. Kelly Tests Positive For COVID-19, Delaying Appeal

CHICAGO — The attorney for jailed singer R. Kelly has been granted a two-week extension for filing an appeal against the R&B artist’s conviction after Kelly tested positive for COVID-19 in his Brooklyn jail cell, according to reports.

Kelly’s attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, was facing a Thursday deadline to file an appeal of her client’s conviction on racketeering conspiracy charges. But Kelly’s COVID-19 has hampered his ability to speak with his lawyer on the telephone, multiple news outlets reported.

Bonjean wrote in the filing on Tuesday that it is important that Kelly has an active role in his post-trial defense. U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly granted the extension on Tuesday morning, giving Bonjean until Feb. 17 to file.

Kelly was convicted in September on the racketeering charges, which determined that he used his music career to further a criminal enterprise. A jury found Kelly guilty on 12 counts, including having sex with underage girls and bribing an Illinois public aid official to get a fake ID for 15-year-old singer Aaliyah so that the two could get married.

Kelly is scheduled to be sentenced in May and faces up to 10 years in prison.

Kelly also faces charges in Illinois, where he is charged with running a scheme over several years to buy back sex tapes he's accused of making with underage girls and to bribe or coerce witnesses in his 2008 child pornography trial in Cook County. Kelly was acquitted in that case.

Kelly is set to begin his trial on those charges in U.S. District Court in Chicago in August.