R Kelly jury to hear opening statement at Chicago trial

Opening statements will give prosecutors and R Kelly’s lawyers the first opportunity to address jurors directly on Wednesday, accusing the R&B singer of seducing minors for sex, producing child pornography and manipulating his 2008 pornography trial .

Earlier this week, both the prosecution and Kelly’s legal team told the judge they wanted each to have about an hour to tell jurors about the type of evidence they could see and hear.

The forensics phase of the federal trial is expected to last about a month.

Lawyers for the two Kelly co-defendants will also speak to jurors before the government begins calling witnesses later on Wednesday. Prosecutors did not say who they would call first.

The jury was formed on Tuesday, with prosecutors and defense attorneys arguing toward the end of the proceedings over whether the administration was unjustly trying to keep some black people off the jury.

Kelly, who is black, has been charged with seducing minors to have sex, producing child pornography and repairing a state child pornography trial in which he was acquitted in 2008.

As both sides begin to implement mandatory challenges – where they can remove a fixed number of potential jurors from the pool – Kelly’s lawyer Jennifer Bonjean accuses prosecutors of trying to strike blacks from jury ‘to deny Mr Kelly his Peer Jury”.

Prosecutors noted that many African-Americans were already on the jury before the defense objected, arguing that their reasons for wanting to strike had nothing to do with race.

In one case, they said an older man appeared to have difficulty staying awake.

Judge Harry Leinenweber partly agreed with the defense, not allowing prosecutors to strike three black men from a jury and restore their rights.

About half of the 12 jurors appointed were identified as black by judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys. Six alternates were also selected.

Some of the selected jurors watched at least one part of a six-part documentary series, Surviving R Kelly, about the sexual abuse allegations against the Grammy-winning singer.

As long as would-be jurors can assure Judge Leinenweber that they can still be impartial, watching it doesn’t automatically disqualify it.

Among the 12 jurors selected was a retired real estate agent who has a son who is a prosecutor and a son who is a defense attorney. Another juror was a librarian.

Among those fired was a woman who said she had an unfavorable view of the police and judges, and a man who said he didn’t think the IRS should exist.

A central focus of the trial will be whether Kelly threatened and paid for a video of a girl he allegedly had sex with when he was in her mid-30s and she was no older than 14.

This is a charge in support of another charge against Kelly of conspiracy to obstruct justice.

Jurors in the 2008 child pornography trial acquitted Kelly, with some later explaining that they felt they had no choice because the girl did not provide evidence.

The woman, now in her 30s and only referred to in court documents as Minor 1, will be a star witness for the government.

Prosecutors explained in court on Monday that they would not use her real name or refer to her as Minor 1 when she testified. Instead, they’ll call her by a pseudonym, Jane.

Kelly, 55, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison by a New York federal judge for using his fame to sexually abuse other young fans, with a 2021 conviction.

Kelly, who emerged from poverty on Chicago’s South Side to become a star singer, songwriter and producer, is appealing an early release based on his New York sentence in his mid-80s.

Kelly faces four counts of inducing a minor to engage in sexual activity, and one each for the other four plaintiffs. They should also provide evidence.

Two of Kelly’s colleagues, Dreyer McDavid and Milton Brown, were co-defendants in the Chicago trial.

McDavid is accused of helping Kelly rehabilitate his 2008 trial, while Brown is accused of receiving child pornography. Like Kelly, they also deny wrongdoing.

Minor 1 is expected to provide evidence that she had sex with Kelly in the video.

The recording was the centerpiece of a month-long trial in 2008 and was played for jurors almost every day.

Prosecutors said Kelly threatened and tried to repay Minor 1 and her parents so they would not give evidence in 2008. None of them.