Europe 1 with AFP 3:37 p.m., August 16, 2022
The former R&B star, already sentenced to 30 years in prison for sex crimes, is soon back in court for nearly four weeks of trial, but this time in his hometown of Chicago.
Fallen R&B star R. Kelly, previously sentenced to 30 years in prison for sex crimes, is appearing again on similar charges in a court in his hometown of Chicago, where jury selection began on Monday, August 15.
Robert Sylvester Kelly, 55, was found guilty in New York of having piloted for several decades a "system" of sexual exploitation of young people, including teenage girls, and sentenced at the end of June to 30 years behind bars.
R. Kelly's "system"
He is, this time, accused in Chicago court of obstruction of justice, production of child pornography and illegal sexual activity with a minor.
He and two former associates are accused of disrupting the course of his 2008 child pornography trial, in which the jury found him not guilty, by both threatening and bribing a victim, who then did not testified.
This time she should speak.
The other two defendants are his former manager Derrel McDavid and former employee Milton "June" Brown.
The trial is expected to last about four weeks.
Prosecuted in two other states
His attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, requested that anyone who had seen the
Surviving R. Kelly
documentary series , which gives voice to many of his victims, be excluded from the jury, but Judge Harry Leinenweber denied the request.
The conviction of R. Kelly in New York, the first in a trial where the majority of civil parties were black women, was seen as a turning point in the #MeToo movement.
The debates had brought to light R. Kelly's "system" for attracting very young women and raping them, with the complicity of those around him.
Many victims had recounted their meeting with their idol during concerts after which they were slipped a small piece of paper with the singer's contact details.
He is also being sued in two other states.