R. Kelly wins case; private emails and phone logs leaked by prison staff

R. Kelly – Getty Images

*R.Kelly may be serving a prison sentence for his mistake, but it appears the disgraced entertainer may finally have been vindicated in his claims that his personal information was leaked.

Radar Online reports that Kelly was “apparently acquitted” this week when the singer filed a lawsuit against the US government was removed from court, in accordance with government demands.

“The United States is not subject to institutional liability arising from alleged widespread negligent practices or policies,” a government lawyer wrote.

The rejection comes after Kelly filed his lawsuit against the government last year. YouTube blogger Tasja K., as well as the Federal Bureau of Prisons, were named in the lawsuit, which revolved around claims by the “I Believe I Can Fly” singer that employees of Chicago’s Metropolitan Correctional Center used the facility’s internal prison system to access his email and phone records before giving the information to Tasha K.

“Defendant United States of America breached its duty of care to Kelly by providing numerous BOP officials with access to his confidential information without any legal basis to do so,” Kelly wrote in his lawsuit.

Singer R. Kelly performs in New York City. (Getty Images)

“The defendant in the United States of America knew that one of the employees and other prison staff routinely accessed his personal information from the systems and provided it to third parties for financial gain, influence, or simple intimidation.

“Due to the breach in the United States of America, at least 60 agents gained unauthorized access to their sensitive, confidential and private information maintained by the BOP in the TruView electronic system,” he continued.

Before his legal battle with the government, Kelly was convicted of sex trafficking in 2021. The entertainer was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison after pleading guilty in September 2021 to racketeering, sex with underage girls, and child sexual exploitation, Radar reported. Metropolitan Correctional Center, the facility named in the former hitmaker’s lawsuit, is known as the place Kelly was sent after his arrest in July 2019.

Kelly (born Robert Sylvester Kelly) took things a step further by accusing prison guards of selling his personal information to Tasha K after he discovered she had posted some of his private information on her blog.

“Tasha K rallied her massive following to intimidate Kelly using the stolen information and created chaos in his personal life. She even used the information to influence witnesses in his criminal prosecution in EDNY,” said Jennifer Bonjean, Kelly’s attorney.

R. Kelly – GettyImages

In addition to the Correctional Center, Kelly’s legal team also brought in prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, accusing them of using the musician’s stolen personal information to “influence” witnesses in another criminal sexual abuse case he was facing at the time.

“On information and belief, the stolen information was shared with and used by U.S. Attorneys General as a tool to influence witnesses against him.”

Despite denying claims that it breached its duty of care to Kelly by allowing prison officers to access and share his emails and phone logs, the government admitted it conducted a thorough investigation into the unauthorized access to his sensitive information. Radar reported that the prison officer named in Kelly’s initial complaint retired in 2019 after being acquitted of charges related to the situation.

From there Kelly was moved to his current residence, Butner Federal PrisonThe singer/songwriter has been living in the North Carolina facility since April 2023.

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