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Kelly also faceslocal chargesin Illinois and Minnesota.
He has maintained his innocence on all charges.
After several delays, Kellys New York City trial is finally starting.
Jury selection began in earnest Monday morning, and opening arguments are scheduled for August 18.
Heres what you gotta know about R. Kellys trial.
(The Mann Act prohibits shuttling people across state lines for illegal sexual activity.)
The Feds said Kellys racketeering enterprise ran from 1994 until his arrest in 2019.
What about the Mann Act counts?Kelly and others did knowingly and intentionally transport Jane Doe No.
5 was underage at the time, charging papers say.
In addition to transportation, the Mann Act counts involving Jane Doe No.
5 to engage in illicit sexual activity.
The Mann Act counts relating to Jane Doe No.
6 also involve alleged transportation, as well as coercion and enticement, in early February 2018.
Wait, werent there more accusers in the Brooklyn case?Yes.
It gets a little confusing because of how the accusers are presented in charging documents.
The Mann Act counts are specifically for Jane Doe No.
5 and Jane Doe No.
However, the racketeering charge is based on numerous instances called acts of alleged criminal conduct involving individual women.
The first act cited under Kellys racketeering charge is bribery.
This act involves Aaliyah, referred to as Jane Doe 1 in court filings.
Kelly is also accused of kidnapping a woman identified as Jane Doe No.
Prosecutors say that Kelly transported a minor, known as Jane Doe No.
Again, these acts are part of the racketeering charge.
This accuser is identified as John Doe 1 in court papers.
Other questions include: Have you attended any concerts within the past 10 years?
; Do you know anything about the Me Too movement?
; and Have you supported or participated in the Me Too movement?
The jurors submitted their questionnaires before coming to court this week.
On Monday and Tuesday, prospective jurors were asked about their questionnaires.
After the group was whittled down, both sides were allowed to make peremptory challenges on Wednesday.
(These challenges cant be rooted in racial, ethnic, or gender discrimination.)
Prosecutors were allowed to make six peremptory challenges, while defense attorneys were allowed to make ten.
Who were the jurors?Seven men and five women were selected to serve on the jury.
The jury is anonymous.
Theyre identified by number, including to the judge and lawyers on both sides.
They hail from a wide variety of professions such as hospital cook, fraud investigator, and flight attendant.
Several gave interesting answers when asked about their view of the law and familiarity with the case.
One juror said on his questionnaire that he had several experiences with law enforcement.
The judge asked whether that led him to form an opinion about law enforcement.
Im not biased against law enforcement if thats what you want to know.
Im biased against people in law enforcement that do these things.
Ive had both negative and positive experiences.
Good people are people.
Good people, bad people.
Theres bad everywhere, the man said.
Another juror said on his questionnaire that he thought Kelly was a cartoonist.
It was actually R. Crumb, the juror said in court.
He replied, I have to go by what the verdict is … ## Related
