photo credit: Jamie Lamor Thompson // Shutterstock
As we all may know, R. Kelly is facing charges in New York of racketeering, coercion of a minor, transportation of a minor and coercion to engage in illegal sexual activity relating to six different victims. As the story unraveled in the ‘Surviving R. Kelly documentary’, we learned the indictment alleges that for over two decades, R. Kelly was the leader of a racketeering enterprise made up of managers, bodyguards, drivers, personal assistants and runners who recruited women and girls to engage in illegal sexual activity with the singer. The sexual activity was often filmed and photographed by Kelly, according to the court filing by the Department of Justice. He is also awaiting trial in Illinois regarding separate sexual abuse allegations and is currently being held in the Metropolitan Correctional Center.
Before multiple women came forward with their stories of abuse at the hands of R. Kelly, he headed to court on child pornography charges involving a 13 year old girl back in 2002 and was acquitted. In 2008, the Cook County jury on the case deliberated for 7 hours before finding R. Kelly, not guilty on all 14 counts.
This go around, Kelly has been incarcerated since July 2019 and has since filed complaints about the conditions he was under, his mental health and has even been attacked by another inmate. Jury questionnaires will be distributed between March 15 and March 25, 2021 for R. Kelly’s trial in U.S. District Court in New York. Jury selection begins April 6 and the trial will begin on April 7.
Source:
https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/legal-and-management/9487888/r-kelly-trial-start-date/