NEW YORK – A federal judge gave the green light Thursday to transfer the R&B singer R. Kelly to New York City, to stand trial this summer after several delays.
Kelly has been in custody in Chicago, where he faces a possible second trial in the fall in a separate federal case related to an extensive sex crime investigation.
The trial in federal court in Brooklyn had been postponed due to the pandemic. But in a virtual hearing, United States District Judge Ann Donnelly told attorneys that there are protections in court that would allow it to finally move forward on August 9.
The judge also said the government should begin preparations to transfer Kelly to a New York jail, most likely the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. The exact timing was unclear.
Brooklyn prosecutors allege that Kelly ran a company made up of his managers, bodyguards and other employees who helped him recruit women and girls for sex. A jury is expected to hear testimony from the alleged victims, each identified in court documents only as “Jane Doe.”
Kelly has denied the sex trafficking allegations. One of his attorneys, Steve Greenberg, said Thursday that his client is looking forward to the trial.
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