A judge has denied R. Kelly’s second request to be released from prison amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

Kelly’s attorney’s requested a motion that asked for a bail hearing and an order for his temporary release, according to the Chicago Sun Times. 

U.S. District Judge Ann M. Donnelly, of the Eastern District of New York, ordered for Kelly to continue to remain in federal custody at the Chicago’s Metropolitan Correctional Center on Tuesday (April 21). 

“The defendant maintains that any risk can be mitigated through a combination of measures imposed on his release, including restriction on social media, internet and telephone use,”Judge Donnelly said, while giving a reminder that federal prosecutors in Illinois who have accused R. Kelly for witness tampering during his child pornography case. 

On April 16, lawyers for the embattled singer made his second COVID-19-related request for release, more than a week after Donnelly stated that the Chicago’s high-profile inmate is “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.” 

It has been reported that the deadly respiratory virus has made its way into Chicago’s Metropolitan Correctional Center and authorities have claimed that an inmate on Kelly’s floor tested positive for coronavirus and was sent to the positive. 

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