INFECTED

R. Kelly Contracts COVID in NYC Jail

His lawyer is now asking for more time to file motions to overturn his sex-trafficking conviction.

R. Kelly has contracted COVID in jail—and his lawyers are begging a judge for more time to try to overturn his sex-trafficking conviction. In a letter to the court filed this week, the singer’s defense lawyer said his infection prevented him from speaking to her by phone, and their first Zoom meeting isn’t scheduled until the day motions are due. “It is vitally important that Mr. Kelly meaningfully participate in his post-trial defense,” said the attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, who represented Bill Cosby in his successful appeal. Kelly faces as much as 10 years in prison when he is sentenced in May; he also faces a separate trial in Chicago.