R. Kelly on trial for child abuse imagery, jury rigging

Convicted sex offender Robert Kelly was back in front of a judge on Wednesday, less than two months after he was sentenced in New York to 30 years in prison for trafficking charges.

Now, the former singer known by his stage name R. Kelly, is on trial in Chicago over child sexual abuse imagery and more trafficking accusations.

US Assistant Attorney Jason Julien said in his opening statement that Kelly had a "hidden...dark side" to his successful music career.

Kelly's defense lawyer focused on his "journey from poverty to stardom," in her own statement, calling on the jury to reject the state's depiction of her client as a "monster" and to remember that he is just an "imperfect" human being.

Co-defendants deny wrongdoing

This time, Kelly is in the dock with two co-defendants, Derrel McDavid and Milton Brown, who are also accused of jury rigging in his 2008 pornography trial. He was eventually acquitted in that case.

All three deny any wrongdoing. The material in question is a video Kelly allegedly made of himself assaulting one of his victims when he was 30 and she was 14. The victim is scheduled to testify later in the trial.

Kelly will also have to answer for allegedly sexually assaulting minors and then paying them off or threatening them to keep quiet, similar to what he was convicted of in New York.

es/dj (AP, Reuters)