<p>NEW YORK — A federal judge gave the green light Thursday to move jailed R&B singer R. Kelly to New York City to go on trial this summer after several delays.</p>
<p>Kelly has been held in Chicago, where he’s facing a potential second trial in the fall in a separate federal case related to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/sexual-misconduct-ap-top-news-music-entertainment-illinois-51c74a5f23664d08b6ad422a0c0f2694"> a sprawling sex crimes investigation</a>.</p>
<p>The trial in Brooklyn federal court had been put off because of the pandemic. But at a virtual hearing, U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly told lawyers that there are courthouse protections in place that would allow it to finally go forward on Aug. 9.</p>
<p>The judge also said the government should start preparations to move Kelly to a New York jail, most likely the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. The exact timing was unclear.</p>
<p>Prosecutors in Brooklyn allege Kelly led an enterprise made up of his managers, bodyguards and other employees who helped him recruit women and girls for sex. A jury is expected to hear testimony from alleged victims, each identified in court papers only as “Jane Doe.”</p>
<p>Kelly has denied the sex trafficking allegations. One of his attorneys, Steve Greenberg, said on Thursday that his client is looking forward to the trial.</p>
