Photo shows R. Kelly being released from prison in 2021.
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An old photo of R. Kelly leaving jail is being shared online but the singer is still in custody
If Your Time is short
- R. Kelly is still in custody in Chicago.
- A photo being shared online shows the singer leaving jail in 2019 after paying $161,000 he owed his ex-wife for child support.
The singer R. Kelly faces 22 federal criminal charges connected to allegations that he sexually abused 11 girls and women. Kelly, who denies the charges, has been incarcerated at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago.
An image that’s being shared on social media shows Kelly walking out of a facility with barbed-wire fences.
"The GOAT is out!!" one post that shared the photo on June 2 said, using emojis.
But the image is from 2019.
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The photo shows Kelly leaving Cook County Jail in Chicago with attorney Steve Greenberg on March 9, 2019. He had been arrested for outstanding child support payments, and he was released after paying off the $161,000 he owed to his ex-wife, ABC News reported at the time.
Prison records show that Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, is 54 years old. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a Robert Sylveste Kelly, age 54, was in custody at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago as of June 4. We don’t know why "Sylvester" is missing an R on the prison bureau’s website, but the register number listed there for Kelly matches what’s appeared in court filings and news coverage.
We rate this post False.
Our Sources
Facebook post, June 2, 2021
NPR, New York federal prosecutors file charges against R. Kelly, March 13, 2020
ABC News, R. Kelly released from jail after arrest for outstanding child support payments, March 9, 2019
Newsweek, When are R. Kelly’s federal trials and what is he charged with? April 4, 2021
Britannica, R. Kelly, visited June 4, 2021
Billboard, R. Kelly attacker confesses, singer requests release on bail, Sept. 4, 2020
Federal Bureau of Prisons, Robert Sylveste Kelly, visited June 4, 2021
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An old photo of R. Kelly leaving jail is being shared online but the singer is still in custody
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