R. Kelly Lawyer Says He's 'Suffering' Mentally While He Awaits April Trial

R. Kelly's legal woes continue as a federal judge has ordered a start date in his trial, where he faces charges in New York of racketeering, coercion of a minor, transportation of a minor and coercion to engage in illegal sexual activity in relation to six different victims.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, a trial has been scheduled for April 7 by U.S. District Court Judge Ann M. Donnelly. Jury questionnaires are scheduled to be distributed between March 15 and March 25, 2021, with jury selection beginning on April 6. As you know, he was arrested in July in Chicago and has since made several requests to be released. However, the requests have been repeatedly denied for the disgraced singer, who is facing 18 counts of sexual misconduct and other charges.

Speaking with Billboard, Kelly's attorney Michael I. Leonard said that his client isn't coping too well behind bars amid the COVID-19 pandemic. "In terms of his mental well-being, I think he’s suffering under these COVID conditions because they had an enormous outbreak previously," Leonard told the outlet. "It's not a good environment to be in."

The federal racketeering and sex trafficking case will be heard by an anonymous jury that will be partially sequestered. "Empaneling an anonymous jury is appropriate given the seriousness of the charges, the defendant's history of obstructing the judicial process, the potential for juror intimidation and the intensity of media attention given to this case," Donnelly wrote in her ruling, which was issued and unsealed in October.

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