Jury selection began yesterday for R Kelly’s upcoming case on charges that he rigged his 2008 state child pornography trial.
It was off to feisty start though as the judge denied a request from Kelly’s attorney to automatically exclude anyone from the jury who watched the six-part documentary series, “Surviving R. Kelly”.
The documentary focused on sex abuse allegations against the R&B singer
Whiel denying the attorney’s request, the judge did however quiz potential jurors about how much they watched, what they could recall about it and whether they could be impartial if they were selected.
The upcoming trial centers on whether Kelly threatened and paid off a girl with whom he allegedly videotaped himself having sex when he was around 30 and she was no older than 14.
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 testify.
The woman, now in her 30s and referred to in filings only as “Minor 1,” will be the government’s star witness in the federal trial that’s expected to last four weeks.
Kelly, 55, already has been sentenced by a New York federal judge to a 30-year prison term for a 2021 conviction on charges that he used his fame to sexually abuse other young fans.
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