Jury Selection Begins For R. Kelly Sex Trafficking Trial

R. Kelly will attend court today (August 9) as jury selections gets underway for his sex trafficking trial.

The 54-year-old singer is accused of hiring others to recruit girls and young women with whom he would have sex and abuse.

Kelly is also charged with a historical case of bribery in 1994, when he allegedly paid an official in Illinois to provide a fake ID to the then-15-year-old Aaliyah, who he would then marry.

Kelly denies all allegations.

According to CNN, the jurors will be selected from hundreds of potential candidates. Those selected will be the only members of the public permitted inside the courtroom.

The trial in Brooklyn, New York, will begin on August 18. Delays were caused when Kelly’s lawyer, Deveraux Cannick, asked for extra time for his client to prepare.

If convicted, Kelly could face several decades in prison. He has already spent two years in detainment awaiting trial.

The I Believe I Can Fly singer is due to face additional sex abuse charges in Illinois and Minnesota.

You can find more celebrity news on our website.