Jury selected for R Kelly’s New York trial as singer faces sex trafficking charges

Jury selection for the R Kelly trial in New York has been completed (Picture: Antonio Perez – Pool via Getty Images)

An anonymous jury has been selected and sworn in as jurors in the R. Kelly federal trial in New York, a spokesperson for the US Department of Justice said Wednesday.

The disgraced singer faces multiple allegations that he sexually abused women and girls for decades, with his long-delayed trial set to begin on August 18.

Seven men and five women were sworn in by Brooklyn federal Judge Ann Donnelly on Wednesday after they were selected.

The jurors will remain anonymous and partially sequestered during the trial — meaning they will be escorted to and from the courthouse each day by US Marshals.

There are also six alternate jurors for the trial.

The singer, whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, was due to face a series of charges from racketeering to sexual abuse on April 7, but the date was pushed back to August due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Kelly has pleaded not guilty in the Chicago and Brooklyn cases (Picture: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The latest trial update comes after it was revealed prosecutors will be allowed to present evidence that the singer allegedly had ‘sexual contact’ with late singer Aaliyah, referred to as ‘Jane Doe #1,’ when she was underage.

The hitmaker – who denies all charges against him – is alleged to have bribed an Illinois official in 1994 to obtain fake identification for the then 15-year-old singer so they could get married.

Prosecutors will also allege the I Believe I Can Fly singer ran a criminal scheme in which women and underage girls were recruited to engage in sexual activity with him.

Seven men and five women were sworn in on Wednesday (Picture: Reuters/Jane Rosenberg)

Kelly was first arrested on sex-related charges in 2002 after a video allegedly showing him having sex with a 14-year-old girl was sent to the Chicago Sun-Times, but the singer was acquitted in 2008 after lengthy delays.

The disgraced singer is currently facing accusations of sexual exploitation of children and has pleaded not guilty to several charges in the states of Illinois, New York and Minnesota.

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Kelly is next set to face trial in Chicago in September for various sexual abuse charges.

The musician was being held without bond at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago before he was moved to the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn last month.

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