
Reuters/Jane Rosenberg
- The judge overseeing R. Kelly's case wants potential jurors to put their feelings on #MeToo aside.
- Prosecutors accused Kelly and people he employed of recruiting women and girls for the singer to have sex with and abuse.
- One woman who said she believed it's uncommon for women to lie about abuse remains in the jury pool.
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The judge overseeing R. Kelly's sex-trafficking trial wants jurors to be able to put aside their thoughts on the #MeToo movement while hearing evidence in the case.
On Tuesday, the second day of jury selection in federal court in Brooklyn, a woman in the jury pool said that she tends to believe women who accuse men of sexual abuse. "Statistically," she told Judge Ann Donnelly, women don't often report sexual assault that didn't happen.
Donnelly asked the woman, who works in theater and indicated she had friends who were taken advantage of by men who had "more clout," if she'd be able to disregard those feelings and remain impartial in the case.
The woman said she could, and she remains in the jury pool.
The trial of R. Kelly – whosereal name is Robert Sylvester Kelly – will involve extensive testimony and evidence related to sexual abuse.
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn have accused Kelly and people he employed of running a criminal enterprise where they recruited women and girls for the singer to have sex with and abuse, making pornographic videos out of some of those experiences. Kelly has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him.
Narrowing the jury pool
Jury selection in the trial, which is expected to last about one month, kicked off Monday. Donnelly questioned 38 jurors, dismissing 13 of them.
One woman who said she believes most women don't lie about sexual abuse was dismissed from the jury pool Monday. Another woman who said the experience she had as a child would make it difficult to hear evidence in R. Kelly's case was excused.
On Tuesday, Donnelly continued to question potential jurors about their ability to be impartial when hearing the case. She hopes to have a pool of 45 eligible men and women before attorneys start using their peremptory challenges to weed out potential jurors they believe might not be favorable to their side.
The judge hopes to have 12 jurors and at least six alternates to hear the case. Opening statements are scheduled for August 18.