R. Kelly Opening Arguments Begin

The federal trial of R. Kelly, the singer accused of sexually abusing young women, begins Wednesday, with Kelly pleading not guilty to all charges, which cover racketeering with underlying charges that include the sexual exploitation of children, kidnapping, and sex trafficking women and girls, CNN reports. Opening arguments start today in a New York court, and the trial is expected to last between six and eight weeks.

The trial is monumental, representing a “fall from grace” for the singer, who has spent the last two years in federal facilities in Illinois and New York awaiting trial since his arrest in July 2019. If convicted of the most serious charges, he could face decades in prison, and defense attorney Deveraux Cannick told the court at a hearing earlier this month that Kelly’s funds have been “depleted.” For Kelly’s accusers, the trial brings with a conflicting set of emotions. Some, who say Kelly and his associates obstructed justice during his 2008 trial, fear further attempts to do so, according to Gerald Griggs, an Atlanta-based attorney who represents several accusers and their families. Timothy and JonJelyn Savage, who say their estranged daughter Joycelyn still identifies herself as one of Kelly’s girlfriends, expressed to CNN the importance of the trial: “The upcoming trial to many may be a spectacle, but for us it’s the opportunity to find resolution.”