Chris Sweda / Chicago TribuneR. Kelly turns himself in at 1st District police headquarters in Chicago on Feb. 22, 2019.
Scott Strazzante / Chicago TribuneR. Kelly performs at Arie Crown Theatre in Chicago on Oct. 25, 2012.
E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago TribuneSinger R. Kelly appears at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago on June 6, 2019, where he pleaded not guilty to new charges.
E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago TribuneAssistant State's Attorney Jennifer Gonzalez, center, responds to R. Kelly attorney Steve Greenberg, right, at Kelly's hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago on May 7, 2019.
Abel Uribe / Chicago TribuneR. Kelly arrives for his child support hearing at the Daley Center on March 6, 2019, in Chicago.
Chuck Berman/Chicago TribuneR. Kelly supporters Millord Edmond, 13, left, and his uncle, Harlan Chambers, look into through the window of the Leighton Criminal Court Building, where singer R. Kelly pleaded not guilty to charges of child pornography in 2002.
E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago TribuneR. Kelly appears before Judge Lawrence Flood at a hearing at Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago on May 7, 2019.
Abel Uribe / Chicago TribuneR. Kelly, center, arrives for his child support hearing at the Daley Center on March 6, 2019, in Chicago.
E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago TribuneSinger R. Kelly, right, appears at a hearing before Judge Lawrence Flood at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on March 22, 2019.
Jose M. Osorio/Chicago TribuneR. Kelly arrives to the Daley Center in Chicago for a child support hearing on March 13, 2019.
Scott Strazzante/Chicago TribuneDerrick Mosley, founder and president of the Bringing About Reform organization, destroys R. Kelly compact discs in front of WGCI radio headquarters on South Michigan Avenue on Jan. 28, 2002. Mosley called others to come together for a day of repudiation to protest the embattled singer and the radio station for blatant disrespect toward the community.
Abel Uribe / Chicago TribuneR. Kelly follows his lawyer out of his studio Feb. 22, 2019.
Chuck Berman/Chicago TribuneSinger Robert Kelly enters court at 26th and California with a phalanx of sheriff's deputies in 2002. A fan tried to shake Kelly's hand, but deputies pushed him away.
Antonio Perez/Chicago TribuneFILE - In this Sept. 17, 2019, file photo, R. Kelly appears during a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse in Chicago. Attorneys for R. Kelly want to question a convicted member of the Latin Kings gang who says he beat up the jailed R&B singer in a Chicago cell. Kelly's lawyers filed a motion Friday, Aug. 4, 2020 in federal court to question Jeremiah Farmer under oath, the Chicago Tribune reported. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune via AP, Pool, File)
Michael Tercha/Chicago TribuneSinger R. Kelly leaves the Cook County Criminal Court Building after a hearing Aug. 21, 2007.
Stephanie Keith/The New York TimesJennifer Bonjean, defense attorney for the singer R. Kelly, speaks outside the federal courthouse in Brooklyn on June 29, 2022, after R&B singer Kelly was sentenced to 30 years.
Heather Stone / Chicago TribuneIn this Dec. 21, 2007 file photo, R. Kelly arrives at the Cook County Criminal Courts building in Chicago to find out if the judge wants to revoke his bond or to deny permission to tour after missing a scheduled hearing.
Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago TribuneMusician R. Kelly, blue jacket, leaves the Cook County Jail on Feb. 25, 2019, after posting a $1 million bond.
John J. Kim / Chicago TribuneCook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx describes what happened to alleged victims of R. Kelly after his bond hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on Feb. 23, 2019, in Chicago.
Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago TribuneR. Kelly leaves Cook County Jail after posting bond at Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago on Feb. 25, 2019.
Abel Uribe / Chicago TribuneSinger R. Kelly addresses the media after walking out of Cook County Jail on March 9, 2019, after paying more than $160,000 in child support.
Joe Burbank/Orlando SentinelR. Kelly listens to Judge Karla Wright during his first appearance hearing on felony child pornography charges June 6, 2002, at the Polk County Courthouse in Bartow, Fla. The judge approved Kelly's release from custody on $750,000 bail.
Nuccio DiNuzzo/Chicago TribuneR. Kelly, performing at the Pitchfork Festival, in Chicago, on July 21, 2013.
Terrance Antonio James / Chicago TribuneR. Kelly turns himself in to Chicago police Feb. 22, 2019, on charges he sexually abused four victims, three of them underage, over a span of a dozen years.
E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago TribuneR. Kelly stands behind his attorney, Steven Greenberg, as Greenberg speaks to Judge Lawrence Flood at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on May 7, 2019.
Chris Sweda / Chicago TribuneR Kelly is taken into custody by Chicago police at the 1st District police headquarters Feb. 22, 2019.
Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago TribuneR. Kelly's attorney, Steven Greenberg, speaks the news media after Kelly pleaded not guilty at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago on Feb. 25, 2019.
David Banks/for the Chicago TribuneR. Kelly performs at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont on June, 16, 2011.
Terrence Antonio James / Chicago TribuneR. Kelly's former business manager Derrel McDavid, from left, and attorneys Beau Brindley and Vadim Glozman stand before the media at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago after verdicts were reached in Kelly's trial on Sept. 14, 2022.
Lazarus Jean-Baptiste / CBS"CBS This Morning" co-host Gayle King remains calm during her interview with the emotional R. Kelly in Chicago on March 5, 2019.
Scott Strazzante / Chicago TribuneR. Kelly performs at Arie Crown Theatre in Chicago on Oct. 25, 2012.
Carl Wagner/Chicago TribuneR. Kelly is led from the Leighton Criminal Court Building by Chicago police officers to a waiting police car to be taken to the 10th District station on June 7, 2002.
Barry Brecheisen/for the Chicago TribuneR&B singer R. Kelly departs after his court appearance on May 18, 2007, for child pornography charges at the Leighton Criminal Court Building.
E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago TribuneSteve Greenberg, attorney for R. Kelly, files a motion before Judge Lawrence Flood requesting law enforcement officials preserve all communications between prosecutors and attorney Michael Avenatti at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on April 1, 2019.
E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago TribuneR. Kelly stands behind his attorney, Steven Greenberg, as Greenberg speaks to Judge Lawrence Flood at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on May 7, 2019.
Jose M. Osorio/Chicago TribuneCity inspectors from the Department of Buildings arrive at the studio space for musician R. Kelly on Jan. 16, 2019.
Mark Lennihan/APR. Kelly performs "I Believe I Can Fly" with a choir behind him Feb. 25, 1998, during the 40th annual Grammy Awards at New York's Radio City Music Hall. Moments later, Kelly won Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for the same song.
Ovie Carter/Chicago TribuneSinger R. Kelly appears in court on Sept. 20, 2002, for a status hearing on child pornography charges.
E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago TribuneSinger R. Kelly and his attorney, Steve Greenberg, left, appear at a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on March 22, 2019.
Scott Strazzante/Chicago TribuneR. Kelly performs at the Allstate Arena in 2003.
Erin Hooley/Chicago TribuneSinger R. Kelly walks into court at the Daley Center for a hearing on his child support case on March 13, 2019, in Chicago.
Stephanie Keith/The New York TimesJennifer Bonjean, defense attorney for the singer R. Kelly, arrives for his sentencing hearing at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn on June 29, 2022.
Antonio Perez/Chicago TribuneLatoya Williams, left, of Chicago, and other fans, come out to support R&B star R. Kelly as he arrives at the Cook County Criminal Courts Building for closing arguments in his child pornography trial on June 12, 2008
John J. Kim / Chicago TribuneR. Kelly's attorney, Steve Greenberg, waves to news media as he records them before a bond hearing for R. Kelly at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on Feb. 23, 2019, in Chicago.
Antonio Perez / Chicago TribuneR. Kelly's attorney Steve Greenberg speaks to media following a hearing for his client R. Kelly at the Leighton Criminal Court building, Sept. 17, 2019.
John J. Kim / Chicago TribuneJoycelyn Savage, center, and Azriel Clary, right, attend a bond hearing for R. Kelly at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on Feb. 23, 2019, in Chicago.
Elizabeth Williams / APIn this courtroom sketch, Assistant District Attorney Nadia Shihata presents her rebuttal statement to the jury during R. Kelly's sex trafficking trial on Sept. 24, 2021, in federal court in New York. R. Kelly is seen in the upper left corner inset and is seated lower right.
Antonio Perez / Chicago TribuneR. Kelly appears during a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse on Sept. 17, 2019.
John Bartley/for the Chicago TribuneSinger R. Kelly performs at United Center on May 14, 1999.
Nuccio DiNuzzo / Chicago TribuneR. Kelly performs at Pitchfork Festival in Chicago on July 21, 2013.
Cheryl Cook / APIn this courtroom sketch, the front of the courtroom is blocked off as a sexually graphic video clip is played for the jury during R. Kelly's trial in federal court Aug. 19, 2022, in Chicago.
Chuck Berman/Chicago TribuneSinger Robert Kelly, known as R Kelly, leaves court with a phalanx of sheriff's deputies on June 26, 2002. He pleaded not guilty to charges of child pornography.
Abel Uribe / Chicago TribuneR. Kelly follows his lawyer out of his studio Feb. 22, 2019.
Elizabeth Williams / APIn this courtroom sketch, Kitti Jones, right, speaks during R. Kelly's sentencing in federal court in New York on June 29, 2022. Kelly and his attorney Ashley Cohen are seated, background left. The former R&B superstar was convicted of racketeering and other crimes.
Brian Cassella/Chicago TribuneDemonstrators rally in response to the R. Kelly allegations, Jan. 9, 2019, outside his recording studio in the West Loop.
E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago TribuneSinger R. Kelly, center, appears at a hearing before Judge Lawrence Flood at Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago on June 26, 2019.
Cheryl A. Cook/for the Chicago TribuneA courtroom sketch of R&B star R. Kelly during his child pornography trial with attorneys Ed Genson (right,) and Sam Adam, Jr. (rear,) at the Cook County Criminal Courts Building, May 20, 2008.
Tom Gianni sketch/APIn this courtroom sketch, R&B singer R. Kelly appears before Cook County Associate Judge Lawrence Flood with his attorney Steve Greenberg, Feb. 25, 2019, at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse in Chicago. Kelly's attorney entered not guilty pleas on the singer's behalf.
Stephanie Keith/The New York TimesCamera crews are set up outside the federal courthouse in Brooklyn on June 29, 2022, for singer R. Kelly's sentencing hearing.
Jose M. Osorio/Chicago TribuneCity inspectors from the Department of Buildings and Chicago Fire Department enter the from back door alley entrance to the studio space for musician R. Kelly on Jan. 16, 2019.
Terrence Antonio James / Chicago TribuneR. Kelly's defense attorney Jennifer Bonjean speaks to the media at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago after verdicts were reached in Kelly's trial on Sept. 14, 2022.
Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago TribuneAttorney Michael Avenatti is flanked by Jerhonda Pace and Angelo Clary after R&B superstar R. Kelly pleaded not guilty at Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago on Feb. 25, 2019. Pace was featured in the documentary "Surviving R. Kelly" and said she began a sexual relationship with R. Kelly when she was 16 years old.
John J. Kim / Chicago TribuneA man motions for photographers to get out of the way as Joycelyn Savage and Azriel Clary exit after a bond hearing for Savage's boyfriend, R. Kelly, at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on Feb. 23, 2019, in Chicago.
Jose M. Osorio / Chicago TribuneCook County State's Attorney Kimberly Foxx announces charges against R&B superstar R. Kelly as Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson looks on at her office in Chicago on Feb. 22, 2019. Kelly was indicted on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
Antonio Perez / Chicago TribuneR. Kelly turns to exit during a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court building, Sept. 17, 2019.
Brian Kersey/for the Chicago TribuneR. Kelly performs at the Chicago Theatre on April 26, 2006.
Brian Cassella/Chicago TribuneThe building that houses the R. Kelly recording studio on Jan. 10, 2019.
Charles Bennett/APR&B singer R. Kelly, center, is surrounded by deputies as he leaves court Nov. 1, 2002, in Chicago. A judge ruled that Kelly, who had been free on bond since he was indicted in June on child pornography charges, can leave the state to appear at a concert in New York later in the month.
Spencer Platt/GettyJacquelyn Kasulis, the acting U.S. attorney in Brooklyn in the case against R&B star R. Kelly, speaks with the media on Sept. 27, 2021, after a federal jury announced that it found Kelly guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking charges.
Antonio Perez/Chicago TribuneNajee Ali with anti-R. Kelly signs, laughs at the jeers and put downs by two women shouting in defense of Kelly outside the Cook County Criminal Courts Building, May 9, 2008, in Chicago.
Erin Hooley/Chicago TribuneSinger R. Kelly walks into court at the Daley Center for a hearing on his child support case on March 13, 2019, in Chicago.
Brian Cassella/Chicago TribuneCook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx on called any accusers with allegations of wrongdoing against singer R. Kelly to come forward, Jan. 8, 2019.
Antonio Perez / Chicago TribuneR. Kelly, center, appears at the Daley Center in Chicago on May 8, 2019, for a hearing in his child support case.
Brian Cassella/Chicago TribuneDemonstrators rally in response to the R. Kelly allegations, Jan. 9, 2019, outside his recording studio in the West Loop.
Abel Uribe/Chicago TribuneR. Kelly, center, who was charged with child pornography, leaves the Leighton Criminal Court Building after appearing in front af a judge Feb. 7, 2003.
Abel Uribe / Chicago TribuneSinger R. Kelly walks out of Cook County Jail, accompanied by his attorney, Steven Greenberg, right, on March 9, 2019, after paying more than $160,000 in child support.
Antonio Perez / Chicago TribuneR. Kelly's former girlfriends Azriel Clary, left, and Joycelyn Savage, right, leave following Kelly's hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court building, Sept. 17, 2019.
Michael Tercha/Chicago TribuneR&B star R. Kelly, 41, arrives at the Cook County Criminal Courts Building for his child pornography trial on May 20, 2008, in Chicago. The charges against Kelly stem from a 15-minute videotape that law-enforcement officials say he made with the alleged victim between Jan. 1, 1998, and Nov. 1, 2000.
Cheryl Cook / Chicago TribuneA courtroom sketch shows defense attorneys Ashley Cohen, from left, and Jennifer Bonjean with singer R. Kelly at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on Sept. 14, 2022.
Jose M. Osorio/Chicago TribuneSinger R. Kelly walks into court at the Daley Center for a hearing on his child support case on March 13, 2019, in Chicago. Kelly had been jailed earlier this month for failure to make about $160,000 in outstanding child support payments.
Chuck Berman / Chicago TribuneR&B star R. Kelly arrives at the Cook County Criminal Courts Building, Thursday, Dec. 20, 2007, in Chicago. Kelly was threatened with arrest after failing to appear in court Wednesday. (Chuck Berman/Chicago Tribune)
John J. Kim / Chicago TribuneAttorney Michael Avenatti addresses reporters after a bond hearing for R. Kelly at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on Feb. 23, 2019, in Chicago.
Scott Strazzante/Chicago TribuneR&B star R. Kelly, 41, leaves the Cook County Criminal Court Building after his child pornography trial recessed for the day on May 28, 2008, in Chicago. The charges against Kelly stem from a 15-minute videotape that law enforcement officials say he made with the alleged victim between Jan. 1, 1998, and Nov. 1, 2000.
Charles Cherney/Chicago TribuneR. Kelly, nominated for five Grammy Awards in 1997, records at Chicago Trax Studio on Jan. 22, 1998.
John Minchillo / APAttorney Gloria Allred, right, walks out of federal court alongside Lizzette Martinez, left, on June 29, 2022, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. R&B star R. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison in a federal sex trafficking case in New York.
Angela Weiss/Getty-AFPAttorney Gloria Allred, who represented several of Chicago-born R&B singer R. Kelly's victims, speaks before the sentencing hearing in New York on June 29, 2022.
Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune
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R. Kelly turns himself in at 1st District police headquarters in Chicago on Feb. 22, 2019.
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By Jason Meisner | jmeisner@chicagotribune.com | Chicago Tribune
PUBLISHED: | UPDATED:
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Indicted singer R. Kelly’s jury trial in New York has been delayed for a fourth time due to the pandemic.
Kelly, 54, had been scheduled to go on trial April 7 on racketeering charges alleging he ran a criminal enterprise that recruited women and underage girls for illegal sexual contact, then isolated and threatened them to keep them under control.
But at a status hearing Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly said that holding a jury trial with the coronavirus pandemic still raging was “not realistic at all.” The judge rescheduled it for Aug. 9, a date that could be moved again depending on how COVID-19 vaccinations go.
“That’s the date we’ll put in the calendar,” Donnelly said.
In addition to the much-delayed proceedings in Brooklyn, Kelly also is set for trial in September in Chicago’s federal court. He is charged with numerous sex abuse-related counts, including allegations he conspired with two former employees to rig his 2008 child pornography trial in Cook County by paying off witnesses and victims to change their stories.
Kelly’s lawyer, Steven Greenberg, said in court Tuesday that the Chicago trial date was “highly tentative,” given the “disappointing” rollout of vaccinations in the city.
Kelly also faces felony criminal sexual abuse charges filed in Cook County in February 2019.
The former R&B superstar has pleaded not guilty in each case. He’s being held without bond at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago.
