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 Prosecutors and defense lawyers
are expected to deliver opening statements to a
jury of seven men and five women, who will
decide the 54-year-old Kelly's fate.
Kelly, a three-time Grammy winner, whose songs
include "I Believe I Can Fly" and "Bump N'
Grind," has pleaded not guilty and strongly
denied wrongdoing.
The trial, delayed several times by the pandemic
and expected to last about one month, is
expected to include lurid details about Kelly's
alleged abuses, including testimony from some
female accusers and at least one male accuser.
Prosecutors will argue that Kelly used an
entourage of managers, bodyguards and others to
recruit women and girls, sometimes at concerts,
for him to have sex with and abuse, and recorded
some of their activities.
Kelly was accused of requiring victims to obey
strict rules, including that they eat or go to
the bathroom only with his permission, wear
baggy clothing outside his presence, and not
look at other men.
The trial is the culmination of years of
suspicions and accusations against Kelly, many
discussed in the 2019 Lifetime documentary
"Surviving R. Kelly."
Kelly's legal team has in court papers
characterized their client's accusers as
"disgruntled groupies" who had pined to be with
him, only to change their stories later.
The trial also comes nearly four years after the
start of the #MeToo era, when more women began
speaking out about abuse from famous and
powerful men.
Kelly could face decades in prison if convicted.
Even if he is acquitted, he still faces
sex-related charges in Illinois and Minnesota,
where he also pleaded not guilty.
The defendant, whose full name is Robert
Sylvester Kelly, has been jailed for more than
two years. He was moved in June to Brooklyn from
Chicago for the trial.
The nine-count indictment describes Kelly's
alleged mistreatment of five Jane Doe victims,
three of whom were underage at the time.
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 One accuser said Kelly engaged
in unprotected sex with her without revealing he
had herpes. Kelly has sought to dismiss charges
related to herpes exposure.
Prosecutors will also try to show Kelly bribed
an Illinois official in 1994 to obtain fake
identification for the singer Aaliyah, then 15,
so that they could marry.
Kelly, according to prosecutors, believed he had
impregnated Aaliyah, and hoped a marriage would
keep her from having to testify against him.
A marriage license showed Aaliyah's age as 18,
prosecutors said. Aaliyah, identified as Jane
Doe #1 in the indictment, died in a 2001 plane
crash.
The indictment includes accusations of
racketeering - more common in organized crime
cases - as well as bribery and extortion.
Eight counts allege violations of the Mann Act,
a federal law now making it a crime to transport
people across state lines for prostitution.
Rock and roll pioneer Chuck Berry is among other
well-known people convicted under that law. The
actor and filmmaker Charlie Chaplin was
acquitted of the charge.
Kelly was acquitted of child pornography charges
at a 2008 trial in Illinois.
Kelly last released a studio album in 2016. His
career stalled following the Lifetime
documentary and the latest charges, and Kelly's
lawyers said this month his "funds have been
depleted."
(This story refiles to fix typo in headline)
(Reporting by Brendan Pierson in New York;
Editing by Noeleen Walder and Sonya Hepinstall)
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