A federal judge on Wednesday ordered R&B superstar R. Kelly to stand trial in Chicago on child pornography and obstruction of justice charges next year after the scheduled sentencing for his conviction in an earlier sex trafficking trial in New York, per the AP. US District Judge Harry Leinenweber appeared to have wanted the trial in Chicago to begin earlier, but he set it for Aug. 1 after one of Kelly's attorneys, Steven Greenberg, said that another of Kelly's attorneys will be in trial on other cases through July. Attorneys told the judge during the brief hearing that they estimated the trial of Kelly and co-defendants Derrell McDavid and Milton "June" Brown would last three to four weeks. Kelly was listening to the hearing on a conference call but he did not speak.
He remains jailed in New York following his conviction last month by a federal jury on kidnapping, sex trafficking, and other charges. Greenberg said Wednesday that Kelly was placed on suicide watch after the trial but it has since ended. The singer faces 10 years to life in prison at his May 4 sentencing. Kelly, who was born Robert Sylvester Kelly, is also facing four separate indictments alleging sexual abuse in state court in Chicago and a child prostitution charge in Minnesota. Experts have said there is a possibility that prosecutors could drop the charges in state court if he receives a lengthy prison sentence in New York. But there is virtually no chance that the federal charges in Chicago will be dropped.
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