R. Kelly’s legal woes have just started despite being convicted in September on all counts in a federal sex trafficking trial. After decades of avoiding criminal prosecution for numerous allegations of misconduct with young women and children, the disgraced former R&B king will now stand trial in Chicago in Aug. 2022, to answer to charges on child pornography and obstruction of justice charges. He’s currently in jail in New York and has been in custody since July 2019. His sentencing date in the federal trial conviction is set for May 4, 2022.
According to The Associated Press, U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber wanted the trial in Chicago to begin sooner before setting the Aug. 1 start date after one of Kelly’s attorneys, Steven Greenberg, said that he and another of Kelly’s attorneys will be on trial on other cases through July. Attorneys told the judge during the brief hearing that they estimated the trial of Kelly and co-defendants Derrell McDavid and Milton “June” Brown would last three to four weeks.
The 54-year-old singer could face life in prison and still has to face state charges in Minnesota for a child prostitution charge, which he also pleaded not guilty to. Kelly was placed on suicide watch following the verdict last month, which has since ended. Placing a recently convicted prisoner under suicide watch is common in the federal prison system and Greenberg also added that Kelly never expressed any actual desire to harm himself.
The 12 Play singer was convicted on Sept. 27 of racketeering conspiracy charges alledging he used his music career to further a criminal enterprise. The jury found Kelly guilty of 12 individual illegal acts, including sex with multiple underage girls. One of the convictions also included bribing an Illinois public aid official to get a phony ID for 15-year-old singer Aaliyah so the two could get illegally married in 1994.
