R. Kelly Removed From Suicide Watch After Being Jailed For Sex Crimes

Days after singer R. Kelly claimed that suicide watch was a form of punishment, he was removed from the special protective treatment in jail, prosecutors told a federal judge on Tuesday.

The convicted sexual predator was placed on the restriction at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, reported New York Post. He is being held there following last week’s sentencing. The “I Believe I Can Fly” singer later filed a suit against the jail. He claimed that the suicide watch violated his constitutional rights and had caused “severe mental distress.”

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn said in a court filing Tuesday morning that Kelly had been taken off suicide watch at the Metropolitan Detention Center. Prosecutors wrote that following a clinical assessment, "Plaintiff Robert Sylvester Kelly, also known as ‘R. Kelly,’ was removed from suicide watch as of this morning, July 5, 2022."

His lawyer Jennifer Bonjean had argued that her client being placed on watch was unnecessary and punitive. She said in a statement last week before the lawsuit was filed that Kelly was placed on suicide watch for "purely punitive reasons in violation of his Eighth Amendment rights." The lawyer vowed to continue her lawsuit despite the decision by the Bureau of Prisons to remove the disgraced singer from suicide watch.

She said in an email Tuesday, “Not surprising that as soon as the BOP was going to have to account for their decisions, they removed him to moot out the motion. Our lawsuit will proceed nonetheless."

Last week, the singer was sentenced to 30 years in prison after his conviction on racketeering and other charges related to the sexual and mental abuse he inflicted on many girls for more than 10 years. Last year, the Grammy winner was found guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking, but he has denied wrongdoing, and he plans to appeal his conviction, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Kelly is up for a second trial in Chicago federal court. It is set to begin on Aug. 15. Prosecutors will try him for possessing child pornography and obstruction of justice. If he is convicted on those charges, he could receive more jail time in addition to the 30 years meted out in New York, reported Billboard.