According to a judge’s ruling, R. Kelly’s Brooklyn federal racketeering and sex trafficking case will be heard by an anonymous jury that will be partially sequestered.
The decision was handed down by U.S. District Judge Ann M. Donnelly issued on October 8 and unsealed last week.
“Empaneling an anonymous jury is appropriate given the seriousness of the charges, the defendant’s history of obstructing the judicial process, the potential for juror intimidation and the intensity of media attention given to this case,” Donnelly said in her ruling, according to Page Six.
Social media also played a part in influencing the judge’s decision. If the identities of the jurors are made public, they could be harassed or intimidated, according to the ruling.
Prosecutors had argued that Kelly has a history of silencing witnesses in his previous cases through bribes, blackmail, and threats.
In court papers from his 2008 child pornography trial in Chicago, Brooklyn prosecutors said that the singer personally played a role in influencing the jury.
Recently, three of Kelly’s associates were arrested on federal charges for allegedly harassing and bribing some of his victims. According to Page Six, a car was set on fire outside one victim’s home, Brooklyn prosecutors said. Another was offered $500,000 to keep quiet.
Kelly’s attorney’s argued that there was no evidence that Kelly or any of his associates posed any threat to the jurors. Further, the defense argued that making the jurors anonymous would hinder questioning during the selection process.
They did not object to the partial sequestering. Donnelly ruled that the jurors would be escorted by marshals to and from the courthouse and would have no contact with the media or public during the trial.
Kelly is facing multiple federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges. He is being held without bail in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago.
He has vehemently denied the allegations against him and has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
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