NEW YORK: R. Kelly will be in a Brooklyn court on Monday as jury selection begins in his sex trafficking trial, where a conviction could result in decades in prison for the Grammy-winning R&B singer.
Federal prosecutors charged Kelly, 54, with leading an entourage of managers, bodyguards and others to recruit women and girls for him, and to produce pornography, including child pornography.
Kelly has pleaded not guilty to a nine-count indictment that includes accusations of racketeering, bribery, extortion and demanding "absolute commitment" from victims, isolating them from friends and family and requiring they call him "Daddy."
The trial before U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly begins on Aug. 18 and may last several weeks.
Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, has been jailed for more than two years.