CHICAGO , — R&B star R. Kelly was ordered by a federal judge Wednesday to face trial in Chicago for child pornography offenses and obstruction of justice. This comes after he was sentenced for the conviction he received in an earlier sextrafficking trial in New York.
U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber seemed to want the Chicago trial to start earlier but he moved it to Aug. 1, after Steven Greenberg, Kelly’s attorney, stated that another Kelly’s attorney will be present at trial on other cases until July.
During the brief hearing, Kelly’s attorneys told the judge that Kelly’s trial and those of co-defendants Derrell McDavid (and Milton “June”) Brown would take between three and four weeks.
Kelly is still in New York jail. He was listening on a conference phone, but did not speak. He faces life imprisonment when he is sentenced.
Kelly was also born Robert Sylvester Kelly. He is currently facing four separate charges alleging sexual abuse at Chicago state court and child prostitution in Minnesota.
Experts believe that there is a chance that the prosecutors will drop the charges against him in New York state court if he is sentenced to a long term prison term. However, it is unlikely that Chicago’s federal charges will be dropped.
Kelly, who has been held without bail since 2019, was last month convicted by a federal jury in New York of racketeering conspiracy and other charges. Greenberg stated Wednesday that Kelly was placed under suicide watch after the trial. However, that has now ended.
