R. Kelly’s child pornography and obstruction of justice trial in Chicago appears to be set for Aug. 1 after his new defense attorney failed to persuade a judge to postpone it for three months, according to ABC7.
Jennifer Bonjean requested the delay, informing U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber in a phone teleconference on Tuesday that she has “an exorbitant amount of material to digest” in order to be ready for trial. Kelly, she said, may be “looking down the barrel of a life sentence.”
In response to the motion, Leinenweber stated: “The problem is, this case has been delayed time and time again. This case is going to have to go to trial.”
Embed from Getty ImagesBonjean, the Chicago-born attorney who aided in Bill Cosby’s, filed a motion earlier in the month attempting to reject most of Kelly’s charges. The musician has been indicted in federal court in Chicago with child pornography and obstruction of justice. Tuesday, Leinenweber did not rule on the motion.
Kelly is already facing a possible life term in federal prison after jurors in Brooklyn convicted him of racketeering. His sentencing there has been scheduled for June 15. Bonjean had sought to temporarily halt Kelly’s Brooklyn punishment till after his Chicago trial, but the Brooklyn court declined.
Embed from Getty ImagesKelly is currently being held in a federal detention facility in New York.
Leinenweber previously dismissed Kelly’s motion to dismiss a pending obstruction of justice charge.