A lawyer for R. Kelly said Thursday the R&B singer was assaulted inside his jail cell by another inmate.
“We have not been provided any information from the jail, nor has Mr. Kelly called,” Steve Greenberg tweeted. “We are hopeful that he was not seriously injured.”
Greenberg called for Kelly to be released until his trial starts because “the government cannot ensure his safety.”
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons declined to comment, citing privacy and safety considerations.
TMZ cited a law enforcement source as saying an inmate entered Kelly’s cell and started “punching the crap out of Kelly.” The singer did not suffer any fractures or serious injuries.
Kelly, 53, is being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago awaiting trial on dozens of sex-related charges and others in three states. He has denied all the allegations.