R. Kelly’s fans have put nearly $28,000 into the disgraced R&B singer’s prison commissary account, his lawyers revealed at a hearing in federal court Wednesday.
That money, which was seized to pay the fines associated with his sex trafficking conviction, will likely dry up, defense attorney Jennifer Bonjean said.
“They were people making $100 here, $100 there,” Bonjean said at a restitution hearing before Judge Ann Donnelly in the Brooklyn courtroom, as Kelly watched via Zoom call, wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and a black mask.
He couldn’t make the trip from the Chicago federal jail where he’s being held because of an unspecified leg injury. Earlier this month, a Chicago federal jury convicted Kelly on three child pornography charges involving videotapes of him sexually abusing teenagers.
“He has a lot of fans,” Bonjean said after the proceedings. “They want to make his life a little easier in prison, so they make small contributions that added up over time.”
She said the fans can still make those donations, but she doubts they’ll continue. “They can do what they want, but not if the government’s gonna come and take it all. I just don’t think they will,” Bonjean said.
Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison in June on sex trafficking and racketeering charges in Brooklyn federal court, for a 25-year scheme that saw him sexually abuse and psychologically torture young women and men. He was also ordered to pay about $140,000 in fines immediately, but the government moved to freeze his commissary account because he hadn’t paid a dime.
Wednesday’s hearing centered on how much restitution Kelly would have to pay to three of his victims, two of whom must take expensive herpes treatments for the rest of their lives.
Bonjean challenged the restitution payments, arguing that the government would need to prove that two of the victims got herpes from Kelly, and not someone else.
“One in 6 people have herpes, so it is not outside the realm of possibility that this woman did not get herpes from Mr. Kelly,” the lawyer said.
She also tried to haggle over whether one of the victims — ”Jane,” who testified that the singer pulled her into his orbit at age 17 and subjected her to years of abuse — should be reimbursed hundreds of thousands of dollars for brand-name herpes medication or generic drugs.
“I don’t think it’s a matter of pursuing a less expensive treatment. It’s the same drug. ... The government has failed to demonstrate any need, or any expectation that she would opt for Valtrex rather than just pocket the quarter-million dollars,” Bonjean said.
Donnelly pushed back, though, saying, “Nobody has cited anything to say that the defendant can dictate the type of medicine the victim can take.”
The judge set Jane’s restitution at just over $300,000 for medication and therapy, and told prosecutors they’d have to recalculate their restitution request for another victim, based on confusion over medication prices. A third woman is not entitled to restitution, the judge said.
Bonjean said she plans to appeal the judge’s decision.
Donnelly is still working out Kelly’s repayment schedule. His lawyers describe him as “indigent,” with his song royalties tied up by pending court judgments. Federal prosecutors have said he has a pool of $5 million still available to him.
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