A Brooklyn judge denied R. Kelly’s bail on Wednesday.
The disgraced singer is facing federal crimes for sexual assault in New York and Chicago. Prosecutors think that he’s a flight risk, but his lawyers argued that he doesn’t have money to leave if he wants to.
But Judge Ann Donnelly noted that the “I Believe I Can Fly” singer is accused of being involved with “very young girls,” his finances are “murky, to say the least” and the home detention he requested “certainly would do nothing to deter him” from intimidating witnesses.
Prosecutors accuse Kells of stashing music royalties in a friend’s bank account, meaning he has more money than he’s making it seem.
R. Kelly wasn’t present at court. His trial begins May 18, 2020, and is expected to last three weeks.