R. Kelly Trial: Key Moments From Week 1

The first days of the disgraced R&B superstar’s federal trial in Brooklyn included harrowing testimony from an accuser and details of his brief marriage to Aaliyah.

For decades, allegations of sexual misconduct have followed R. Kelly. But not until Wednesday, on the first day of his long-awaited criminal trial, did one of his accusers take the witness stand to testify against the disgraced R&B superstar. Jerhonda Pace was only 16 when Mr. Kelly began having sex with her — and when she told the singer, he seemed unconcerned, she testified. Across two days of searing testimony, Ms. Pace, one of Mr. Kelly’s most vocal accusers, opened what is expected to be a four-week trial focused on accusations that the singer used his fame — and a sizable group of employees and associates — to recruit women and girls for sex. Ms. Pace is one of six women whose encounters with Mr. Kelly are at the center of the government’s case. Mr. Kelly, who is on trial in federal court in Brooklyn, is charged with one racketeering count and eight violations of an anti-sex trafficking law known as the Mann Act. Four of the women are expected to testify.