The R&B singer faces charges that he manipulated his 2008 state child pornography trial by threatening and paying off a girl he allegedly filmed having sex with when he was around 30, and she was no more than 14. Jury selection begins Monday at R. Kelly's federal trial in his hometown of Chicago.

In 2008, jurors acquitted Kelly of all charges, with several admitting subsequently that they felt compelled to do so because the victim did not testify. In the impending federal trial, the government's main witness will be a 30-year-old woman referred to only as "Minor 1" in court documents.

Kelly, 55, will appear in federal court in Chicago on Monday, having previously been sentenced to 30 years in prison by a New York federal judge for a 2021 conviction on allegations he used his stardom to assault other underage admirers sexually.

Kelly, who emerged from poverty on the South Side of Chicago to become a superstar singer, songwriter, and producer, faces many accusations at the federal trial. Four counts of luring children for sexual activity, one for each of the four accusers. They are also scheduled to testify.

The convictions in Chicago could add decades to Kelly's appealed New York sentence. With just the New York sentence, Kelly will be around 80 years old before becoming eligible for early release.

Derrel McDavid and Milton Brown, two Kelly colleagues, are co-defendants in the Chicago trial. McDavid is suspected of assisting Kelly in rigging the 2008 trial, while Brown is accused of obtaining child pornographic material. They, like Kelly, have denied any misconduct.

Likewise, two state cases remain pending. The first is a multiple-count sex abuse case from Chicago's Cook County Circuit Court, and the second involves soliciting in Minnesota. No trial dates have been announced.

The minor one is anticipated to testify that she was filmed having sexual relations with Kelly. Throughout the month-long trial in 2008, the recording was played for the jury nearly every day.

Minor 1 first met Kelly in junior high school in the late 1990s. Her aunt, a professional singer who collaborated with Kelly, had accompanied her to his Chicago recording studio. Soon after, Minor 1 informed her parents that Kelly would be her godfather.

Prosecutors assert that Kelly then intimidated and attempted to bribe Minor 1 and her parents so they would not testify during the 2008 trial. None of the individuals did so.

The double jeopardy rule prohibits prosecuting someone for the same offenses they were previously acquitted. This does not apply to the federal trial in Chicago, as prosecutors are claiming different crimes relating to Minor 1, including obstruction of justice.