R&B star R. Kelly gained weight and lost money while he awaits a sex-trafficking trial that starts in earnest next week, his lawyers said Tuesday at a court hearing.
The revelations came as U.S. District Judge Ann M. Donnelly in New York made a series of rulings to narrow down what evidence can be shown to jurors. She mostly ruled for prosecutors but said some evidence will be excluded because it is too similar to other parts of the case aimed at showing Kelly engaged in racketeering in pursuit of women and girls he could abuse.
The Grammy-winning, multiplatinum-selling R&B singer is accused of leading an enterprise of managers, bodyguards and other employees who helped him recruit women and girls for sex, sometimes at concerts and other venues. He has pleaded not guilty to racketeering, bribery, coercion, enticement and sex trafficking.
Devereaux Cannick, one of his lawyers, told the judge that Kelly, born Robert Sylvester Kelly, needs to be measured for new clothing because he's gained so much weight in jail.
And he asked that court transcripts be provided at no cost because Kelly has been unable to work for two years.
鈥淗is funds are depleted,鈥 Cannick said of a client who left the courtroom after the hearing with his hands cuffed.
鈥淚t's going to be a long trial,鈥 Donnelly said after prosecutors outlined their plans to call numerous witnesses, including women who say they were sexually abused, physically abused and coerced to do things for Kelly's pleasure.
The judge said the witnesses who allege abuse can testify with only their first name given to jurors, who will sit in the gallery rather than the jury box because of a reconfigured courtroom tied to coronavirus restrictions.
Donnelly also said she will generally not allow questions aimed at revealing if any of the women have had mental health treatment. She said she will not allow the jurors to be told that one witness had worked as an exotic dancer years after she said she was abused.
Also likely to be excluded from the trial is any testimony about religious beliefs or that some of the women were directed to have sex with one another, the judge said.
Prospective jurors have already filled out questionnaires aimed at ensuring they have no biases that would affect their judgment. They will begin answering questions next Monday.
Kelly, is known for work including the 1996 hit 鈥淚 Believe I Can Fly鈥 and the cult classic 鈥淭rapped in the Closet,鈥 a multipart tale of sexual betrayal and intrigue.
Kelly's sex life has drawn scrutiny since the 1990s, and he also is facing sex-related charges in Illinois and Minnesota. He has pleaded not guilty.
The judge in New York ruled last week that the public and the media will be banned from the courtroom after 12 news organizations asked that six reporters be permitted inside because watching a portion of the courtroom on monitors in two overflow rooms was insufficient and might not constitute an open proceeding. She cited the coronavirus restrictions.
As he left the courthouse Tuesday, Cannick, one of Kelly's lawyers, was asked if the closing of the courtroom might be grounds for appeal if his client is convicted.
He smiled and said, 鈥淚f there was a conviction, we'd use every error that was made鈥 in an appeal.
Two Canadians are among those killed in southern Lebanon, Global Affairs Canada confirmed late Tuesday. While GAC has not confirmed their names due to privacy, family members tell 麻豆传媒 the two people killed are Hussein and Daad Tabaja.
An image of the unidentified object shot down over Canada's Yukon territory in February 2023 has been obtained by CTVNews.ca.
MPs debated the first non-confidence motion of the fall House of Commons sitting today, seeing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre push once again for a snap election. But with votes secured to keep them afloat, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals were quick to turn the discussion into a referendum on the Conservative alternative.
A city councillor in British Columbia says an online mob of "extremists" and "politically motivated hackers" is responsible for uncovering and publicizing a photo of him wearing a blackface costume to a Halloween party in 2007.
The federal government has 'no intention' of pausing the next planned increase to the carbon price, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault confirms.
After Ontario Premier Doug Ford made controversial comments about solutions to get people out of homeless encampments, advocates and members of the opposition spoke up on Tuesday.
Four puppies were found near County Road 21 in Essa Township after a passerby spotted one when it ran out of the ditch and onto the road.
We've all had neighbours we didn't like, but two people from Sault Ste. Marie have been awarded more than half a million dollars for the 'extreme' behaviour of the people who lived next to them.
A Missouri man convicted of breaking into a woman鈥檚 home and repeatedly stabbing her was executed Tuesday over the objections of the victim鈥檚 family and the prosecutor, who wanted the death sentence commuted to life in prison.
An advocate organization is calling for an inquiry following the death of a six-year-old boy who went missing in Shamattawa First Nation.
The smoke over the Port of Montreal has dissipated, but the fire in a container filled with 15,000 kilograms of lithium batteries prompted firefighters to issue a warning about how common these incidents have become.
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Four puppies were found near County Road 21 in Essa Township after a passerby spotted one when it ran out of the ditch and onto the road.
After Ontario Premier Doug Ford made controversial comments about solutions to get people out of homeless encampments, advocates and members of the opposition spoke up on Tuesday.
A Missouri man convicted of breaking into a woman鈥檚 home and repeatedly stabbing her was executed Tuesday over the objections of the victim鈥檚 family and the prosecutor, who wanted the death sentence commuted to life in prison.
Kg rockets, missiles and drones into northern Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and its ally Hamas, a fellow Iran-backed militant group. Israel has responded with increasingly heavy airstrikes and the targeted killing of Hezbollah commanders while threatening a wider operation.
Iran鈥檚 new president signaled to world leaders Tuesday that he wants to open a 'constructive' chapter in his country鈥檚 international relations 鈥 but he made clear that everyone else, including the United States, needs to do their part.
A man who authorities say staked out Donald Trump for 12 hours on his golf course in Florida and wrote of his desire to kill him was indicted Tuesday on an attempted assassination charge.
Special counsel Jack Smith this week will be allowed to file hundreds of pages of legal arguments and evidence gathered in the 2020 election subversion and Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol attack criminal case against former president Donald Trump, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.
A federal judge sentenced FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried鈥檚 former girlfriend to two years in prison, citing her extensive cooperation with prosecutors that led to the conviction of the former face of the cryptocurrency industry in one of the largest financial frauds in U.S. history.
The federal government has 'no intention' of pausing the next planned increase to the carbon price, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault confirms.
U.S. President Joe Biden reflected on the motivation behind his decision to step away from politics and sent a message of unity to global leaders gathered at a time of increasing division and geopolitical instability.
MPs debated the first non-confidence motion of the fall House of Commons sitting today, seeing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre push once again for a snap election. But with votes secured to keep them afloat, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals were quick to turn the discussion into a referendum on the Conservative alternative.
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The Crown's key witness in the sexual assault trial against former Hedley frontman Jacob Hoggard will take the stand in a northern Ontario courtroom Tuesday afternoon following the judge's instructions to the jury.
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Police are looking to the public for help after thieves broke into a Lethbridge ice creamery, stealing from the store.
An ordinary day on the job delivering mail in East Elmwood quickly turned dramatic for Canada Post letter carrier Jared Plourde. A woman on his route was calling out in distress.
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An Uber driver was handed a 12-month driving ban on Tuesday following a collision that injured a pedestrian and killed a labrador retriever in Barrie.
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A road in Essex County has reopened following a multi-vehicle crash. According to OPP, County Road 20 had been closed between Iler road and McCormick Road in Harrow.
Amherstburg town council has given the go-ahead for restoration proposals for the Belle Vue National Historic Site.
A city councillor in British Columbia says an online mob of "extremists" and "politically motivated hackers" is responsible for uncovering and publicizing a photo of him wearing a blackface costume to a Halloween party in 2007.
Less than one month before voters cast their ballots in the provincial election, a new poll of British Columbians shows half of respondents fear for their safety in their own communities.
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A federal offender who was last seen in Sudbury is wanted on a Canada-wide warrant for allegedly breaching his statutory release conditions.
The Crown's key witness in the sexual assault trial against former Hedley frontman Jacob Hoggard will take the stand in a northern Ontario courtroom Tuesday afternoon following the judge's instructions to the jury.
Newfoundland and Labrador sponsored a minor football team in England, now they鈥檙e about to play one of the biggest clubs in European soccer.
Newfoundland and Labrador's chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
A 16-year-old biennial event aimed at fostering business in the country's eastern Arctic and northern regions has been cancelled indefinitely as a dispute unfolds between Inuit in Canada and a Labrador group claiming to share their heritage.
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