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R. Kelly sex trafficking trial kicks off in Brooklyn
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R. Kelly appears in Brooklyn court for first time ahead of trial
An anonymous jury was selected Wednesday to weigh sex-trafficking charges against R. Kelly, who faces multiple allegations that he sexually abused women and girls for decades.
Brooklyn federal Judge Ann Donnelly swore in the 12-person panel — seven men and five women — after they were selected. There are also six alternate jurors.
The jurors will remain anonymous and partially sequestered during the trial — meaning they will be escorted to and from the courthouse each day by US Marshals.
Opening statements are slated to begin next Wednesday with the trial expected to last a month.
The 54-year-old R&B crooner, whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, is accused of enlisting help from his employees to lure women and girls to have sex with him — with some victims allegedly traveling from out of state to be with him.
The “I Believe I Can Fly” singer also faces allegations that he and others conspired to create a fake ID for Aaliyah — the singer who died in a plane crash at age 22 in 2001.
He’s accused of abusing her while she was underage and planned to marry her so that she couldn’t testify against him, prosecutors say.
Kelly — who’s been behind bars both in Chicago and in Brooklyn since his arrest in 2019 — has denied the charges, claiming that the relationships were consensual ones with groupies.
He also faces separate criminal cases in Minnesota and Illinois for alleged sex crimes.
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