Prosecutors told a New York court that R. Kelly is a “predator” who exploited his celebrity to recruit kids for sex, as the disgraced R&B singer’s much-anticipated trial began Wednesday.

The 54-year-old, born Robert Sylvester Kelly, has categorically denied sexually abusing and degrading young females and boys recruited by members of his entourage, according to prosecutors. Both the artist and his followers were accused of being part of a “enterprise” that enabled the abuse to take place.

If he is found guilty on all counts, he may face a lengthy jail term.

During opening statements, a prosecutor argued that the case was about a “predator” who used his celebrity and wealth to “lure and sexually abuse girls, boys, and young women” while “hiding his crimes in plain sight.”

Kelly is also accused of coercion, racketeering, bribery, and violating US federal law by moving girls for “immoral” actions. The trial, which may last weeks, comes two years after his arrest in Chicago by federal authorities on unrelated allegations, with Covid delaying the Brooklyn trial.

Kelly was described by Assistant US Attorney Maria Cruz Melendez as “a predator who for decades used fame, popularity, and a network of associates to groom girls, boys, and young women for his own sexual purposes.”

She said he used “every trick in the predator handbook,” approaching minors, grooming them and their families with promises he could help their careers before sexually abusing them.

In what his victims claim has been a lengthy wait for justice in the #MeToo era, a jury made up of seven men and five women will eventually decide his fate. It comes 13 years after he was acquitted of child pornography allegations.

Melendez described Kelly as “a man who used lies, manipulation, threats and physical abuse to dominate his victims and to avoid accountability for years”.

According to her, he bribed his victims by photographing and filming them having sex with him and then threatening to disclose the films.

During the defense’s opening comments, a lawyer for R. Kelly predicted that the witnesses’ evidence would “crumble” during cross examination and that the government “wouldn’t be able to untangle the mess of lies.”

As the prosecution presented its evidence, the Grammy-winning singer sat calmly, his head down at times, wearing a grey suit, purple tie, and spectacles.

In Illinois and Minnesota, he has also pleaded not guilty to sex-related allegations.

Kelly “exacted cruel and demeaning punishments” to anyone who disobeyed orders, according to the prosecution, including “violent spankings and beatings.”

Melendez said that the artist covered up crimes with the help of bodyguards, drivers, attorneys, and accountants.

The case was not about a “celebrity who likes to party” or R. Kelly’s sexual preferences, according to the prosecutor: “The sexual conduct was illegal. He engaged with minors in their teens and recorded it to produce child pornography and crossed state lines and exposed them to incurable herpes,” she said.

For decades, Robert Sylvester Kelly, a singer, has been accused of child pornography, intercourse with kids, running a sex cult, and sexual violence.

Kelly is accused of demanding victims to show “absolute commitment” and follow tight restrictions, such as only eating or going to the restroom with his permission, not looking at other males, and addressing him as “Daddy.”

R. Kelly also stored tapes and photographs to protect himself and keep his victims quiet, she continued, or he would pay his victims off so his illegal activity would not be revealed.

Despite the troubling allegations and multiple out-of-court settlements, the singer renowned for hits like as “I Believe I Can Fly,” “Bump ‘N Grind” and “Ignition (Remix)” retained a loyal fan following and continued to tour around the world.

Kelly has spent the previous two years in prison. For the trial, he was relocated from Chicago to Brooklyn in June.