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US District Judge Harry Leinenweber, who ordered Kelly held without bond in July, is slated to take up the motion Wednesday.
Last month, the acting US marshal in Chicago told Leinenweber that the restrictive confinement was for Kelly's own safety. He also said Kelly had so far refused offers of a cellmate or to be moved to general population.
But in their motion, Kelly's lawyers said Bureau of Prisons officials have cited his celebrity status and the charges involving sexual abuse of minors in refusing their requests to move him out of the SHU.
"The issue is that although he may be ready to go to general population, for safety and security reasons, he many not be appropriate for general population at this time because of his offense and notoriety," one BOP official wrote in an email Monday to Kelly's lawyers, according to the defense motion.
The email stated Kelly's status will "continue to be monitored and reviewed." That notion was scoffed at by Kelly's attorneys as "utterly nonsensical," since the conduct he's charged with and his status as a celebrity aren't likely to change.
The 13-count federal indictment brought in Chicago alleged Kelly and two of his associates fixed the R&B superstar's 2008 child pornography trial in Cook County by paying off witnesses and victims to change their stories.
The indictment also alleged Kelly, former manager Derrel McDavid, and onetime employee Milton "June" Brown paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to recover child sex tapes before they fell into the hands of prosecutors.
A separate federal indictment brought against Kelly alone in New York accused the singer of racketeering conspiracy, alleging Kelly identified underage girls attending his concerts and grooming them for later sexual abuse.
Kelly is also charged in four separate indictments in Cook County alleging he sexually assaulted one woman and sexually abused three minor girls.
Kelly has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Last month, the acting US marshal in Chicago told Leinenweber that the restrictive confinement was for Kelly's own safety. He also said Kelly had so far refused offers of a cellmate or to be moved to general population.
But in their motion, Kelly's lawyers said Bureau of Prisons officials have cited his celebrity status and the charges involving sexual abuse of minors in refusing their requests to move him out of the SHU.
"The issue is that although he may be ready to go to general population, for safety and security reasons, he many not be appropriate for general population at this time because of his offense and notoriety," one BOP official wrote in an email Monday to Kelly's lawyers, according to the defense motion.
The email stated Kelly's status will "continue to be monitored and reviewed." That notion was scoffed at by Kelly's attorneys as "utterly nonsensical," since the conduct he's charged with and his status as a celebrity aren't likely to change.
The 13-count federal indictment brought in Chicago alleged Kelly and two of his associates fixed the R&B superstar's 2008 child pornography trial in Cook County by paying off witnesses and victims to change their stories.
The indictment also alleged Kelly, former manager Derrel McDavid, and onetime employee Milton "June" Brown paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to recover child sex tapes before they fell into the hands of prosecutors.
A separate federal indictment brought against Kelly alone in New York accused the singer of racketeering conspiracy, alleging Kelly identified underage girls attending his concerts and grooming them for later sexual abuse.
Kelly is also charged in four separate indictments in Cook County alleging he sexually assaulted one woman and sexually abused three minor girls.
Kelly has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
