R Kelly in court again to face more sex crimes charges

Musician is currently serving 30 years in prison for an earlier conviction

Jovante Cunningham, one of Kelly's accusers, pauses after speaking outside the federal court. AP

A supporter of R Kelly cries outside the federal court in Brooklyn, New York, on Wednesday after the R&B star was sentenced to 30 years in a federal sex case. AP

Lawyer Gloria Allred speaks alongside Ms Cunningham outside the federal court. AP

Kelly's lawyer Jennifer Bonjean speaks after her client was sentenced to 30 years in jail. AP

Ms Allred walks out of federal court alongside another Kelly victim, Lizzette Martinez. AP

Crowds gather for Kelly's sentencing at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse in New York. Reuters

Ms Cunningham embraces a supporter. EPA

Ms Cunningham speaks after Kelly's sentencing. EPA

Ms Allred walks with Ms Martinez after the sentencing. EPA

Ms Martinez and Ms Cunningham outside the courthouse on Wednesday. EPA

Disgraced R&B singer R Kelly, who is serving a 30-year sentence for sex offences, is back in court this week facing further charges.

Jury selection began on Monday in the latest case, which is being tried in the 55-year-old's hometown of Chicago, Illinois.

Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, was convicted in New York in September of recruiting teenagers and women for sex.

The I Believe I Can Fly artist was found guilty of eight charges of sex trafficking and one count of racketeering.

In the Chicago case, Kelly and two ex-associates are accused of rigging the singer's 2008 child pornography trial in which the jury delivered a verdict of not guilty.

A minor victim, who has not been identified, declined to give evidence in the 2008 trial because of alleged threats and bribes, but is expected to take the witness box this time.

Kelly, a three-time Grammy Award-winner, is charged with obstruction of justice, producing child pornography and illegal sexual activity with a minor.

Also facing charges are Kelly's former manager, Derrel McDavid, and an ex-employee, Milton “June” Brown. The trial is expected to last about four weeks.

As jury selection began, Kelly's lawyer Jennifer Bonjean filed a motion asking that anyone who watched a documentary called Surviving R Kelly be disqualified from service.

“Any potential juror who has watched any portion of this docuseries must be disqualified for cause,” the motion said.

Judge Harry Leinenweber denied the motion and proceeded to jury selection.

Kelly's conviction in New York was widely seen as a milestone for the #MeToo movement, as it was the first major sex abuse trial in which the majority of accusers were black women.

It was also the first time Kelly faced criminal consequences for the abuse he was rumoured to have inflicted on women and children for decades.

His accusers described events that often mirrored one another. Many of the alleged victims said they had met the singer at concerts or mall performances and were then handed slips of paper with Kelly's contact details by members of his entourage.

Core to the state's case was Kelly's relationship with the late singer Aaliyah, which began when she was about 13 years old.

Kelly wrote and produced her first album — Age Ain't Nothin' But A Number — before illegally marrying her when she was only 15 because he feared he had impregnated her.

He also faces prosecution in two other state jurisdictions.