Taking place in New York
US R&B singer R Kelly is facing charges of racketeering, sexual abuse and bribery at a trial in New York.
The hearing began at a court in Brooklyn yesterday, where the first accuser gave evidence.
The female accuser told the court Mr. Kelly "slapped" and "choked" her until she passed out.
Prosecutors yesterday described him as a "predator" who used fame to "get access to girls, boys and young women."
The 54 year old has also been accused of using his managers and bodyguards to help him groom women for sex, over two decades.
The singer denies all the charges against him, and has pleaded not guilty.
Harriet Alexander, US Correspondent with the Telegraph, explains what those charges are:
The R&B singer R. Kelly was a "predator" who used his celebrity status to lure victims to be abused, a prosecutor said in opening statements of his federal trial in New York, calling him the center of a criminal enterprise that operated for decades. https://t.co/pAKBrNDQqM
— CNN (@CNN) August 18, 2021
