Opening arguments made as R Kelly faces trial on sex charges

R Kelly (Frank Micelotta/AP)

R Kelly kept an ugly side of his life hidden as he escaped poverty in Chicago and rose to pop music stardom, a prosecutor told jurors at the singer’s trial on charges accusing him of enticing girls for sex and rigging a 2008 child pornography case.

Kelly’s lead lawyer implored jurors during her opening statement at the federal trial in Chicago not to accept what she said was the prosecution’s portrayal of her client as “a monster”.