R. Kelly's Leaked Information Lawsuit Slammed By Government Reps
By Afouda Bamidele on August 6, 2024 at 4:45 PM EDT
The U.S. government has no plans to engage in a legal battle with R. Kelly.
The government's reps recently petitioned the court to dismiss the disgraced singer's 2023 lawsuit against them. They argued that Uncle Sam couldn't be held responsible for his leaked information claims.
R. Kelly sued the U.S. government for failing to protect his privacy after prison officials allegedly gave sensitive details about him to the gossip blogger Tasha K.
U.S. Government Responds To R. Kelly's 2023 Lawsuit
The government addressed Kelly's lawsuit through their attorney, claiming, "The United States is not subject to institutional liability stemming from allegedly widespread negligent practices or policies."
Although Uncle Sam claimed it didn't fail in its duty to care for Kelly, the government seemingly admitted that investigations uncovered a prison official had provided blogger Tasha K with sensitive information.
The worker reportedly accessed Kelly's information through the prison's internal system. Nonetheless, In Touch reported the government refused to be held accountable for this alleged leak and asked for the case to be dismissed.
R. Kelly Slammed The US Government For Negligence
In his lawsuit, Kelly's attorney accused the government of failing to control its Bureau of Prison (BOP) officers and allowing them to abuse their power unchecked. The allegations read:
"The Defendant United States of America breached its duty of care to [Kelly] when it allowed countless BOP officers to access [Kelly's] confidential information without any legal basis to do so."
"The Defendant Unites States of America knew that [one of the employees] and [the other prison workers] routinely accessed [Kelly's] private information from its systems and divulged private information to third parties for monetary gain, clout, or simple harassment," Kelly's lawyer continued, claiming:
"Because of the United States of America's breach, at least 60 [prison] officers made unauthorized access to [Kelly's] sensitive, confidential, and private information maintained by the BOP on its electronic system known as TruView."
R. Kelly Claimed Prison Officials Sold His Information For Money
The Blast reported that Kelly sued the U.S. government alongside three prison officials for leaking his confidential information. He claimed these workers used their authority to leak details about him while he was in police custody in Chicago.
The information included the "I Believe I Can Fly" singer's private calls, visitor logs, email correspondence, and more. He argued that these officials gave his private details to Tasha K in exchange for money.
Kelly also bashed the blogger in his lawsuit, calling her out for using the allegedly leaked information to share unflattering details about him online. However, Tasha K claimed she was involved in any illegal activity relating to the singer.
The Disgraced Singer Played The Victim Card
In his lawsuit, Kelly argued that the prison officials and Tasha K's alleged actions not only invaded his privacy but also significantly harmed his reputation. He stressed that he was emotionally distressed by the situation.
The singer's claims date back to 2019 amid his child sexual assault case in Chicago. Following his guilty conviction, he was relocated to the federal prison facility in North Carolina to serve a combined 31-year sentence.
However, Kelly doesn't plan to serve his time without a fight and recently appealed to have the sexual abuse convictions dismissed. The Blast shared that he played the statute of limitations card, citing a loophole in the PROTECT Act.
R. Kelly Wants Child Sex Convictions Dismissed
Kelly'sattorney, attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, argued that he was serving time for crimes that occurred in the 90s. However, the PROTECT Act that got him imprisoned wasn't passed until 2003.
Bonjean noted the Act, which made the statute of limitations indefinite for child sex crimes, did not have any clause for punishing crimes before 2003. Therefore, Kelly should not be held accountable for his alleged child crimes.
The crimes in question included three counts of child pornography and three inducement counts. Kelly was found guilty of the charges in 2022, with a part of the evidence being a gut-wrenching video of him sexually abusing his then 14-year-old goddaughter.
The Supreme Court has yet to decide if it will hear R. Kelly's appeal. However, whatever decision it makes is sure to have many, especially his victims, fighting to keep the disgraced singer in prison.