What you should know
- What prosecutors say was a not-so-secret dark side of the superstar R&B, R. Kelly, will appear in detail before a jury in New York City.
- The federal trial comes after years of frustration among women who say they have been sexually abused by the 54-year-old singer, who vehemently denies any wrongdoing.
- Opening statements are scheduled for Wednesday before a jury consisting of seven men and five women.
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NEW YORK – The star of R&BR. Kelly will return to criminal court on Wednesday, this time for the opening statements of his long-awaited federal trial stemming from years of allegations that he sexually abused women and girls while pursuing fame and fortune.
It has been more than a decade since Kelly was acquitted in a 2008 child pornography case in Chicago. It was a respite that allowed his music career to continue until the #MeToo era caught up with him, prompting the alleged victims to speak up.
The women’s stories got wide exposure with the Lifetime documentary “Surviving R. KellyThe series explored how an entourage of supporters protected Kelly and silenced his victims for decades, foreshadowing a federal racketeering conspiracy case that ended with Kelly in jail in 2019.
Brooklyn prosecutors have lined up several female accusers, most of whom are referred to in court as “Jane Does,” and former cooperating associates who have never spoken publicly about their experiences with Kelly before.
They are expected to provide testimony on how Kelly’s managers, bodyguards and other employees helped him recruit women and girls, and sometimes boys, for sexual exploitation. They say the group selected the victims at concerts and other venues and organized a trip to see Kelly in the New York City area and elsewhere, in violation of the Mann Act, the 1910 law that made it illegal. ” transporting any woman or girl “across state lines” for any immoral purpose. “
When the women and girls arrived at their accommodation, a member of Kelly’s entourage made rules about not talking to each other, how they should dress and how they needed Kelly’s permission before eating or going to the bathroom, prosecutors say.
Also, they were allegedly asked to call him “dad”.
Defense attorneys have responded by saying that Kelly’s alleged victims were groupies who appeared on his shows and made it known that “they were dying to be with him.” The women only began accusing him of abuse years later when public sentiment turned against him, they said.
Kelly, 54, is perhaps best known for his great success. “I Believe I Can Fly“, a 1996 song that became an inspirational hymn played at school graduations, weddings, announcements, and elsewhere.
An anonymous jury of seven men and five women has been sworn in to hear the case. The trial, which comes after several delays mainly due to the pandemic, will unfold under coronavirus precautions that restrict the press and the public from flooding courtrooms with videos.
The New York case is only part of the legal danger facing the singer, born Robert Sylvester Kelly. He also pleaded not guilty to sex-related charges in Illinois and Minnesota.
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