The judge in R. Kelly's sexual abuse trial wants potential jurors to put aside their feelings on the #MeToo movement

• The judge overseeing R. Kelly's case wants potential jurors to put their feelings on #MeToo aside.
• Prosecutors accused Kelly and people he employed of recruiting women and girls for the singer to have sex with and abuse.
• One woman who said she believed it's uncommon for women to lie about abuse remains in the jury pool.

The judge overseeing R. Kelly's sex-trafficking trial wants jurors to be able to put aside their thoughts on the #MeToo movement while hearing evidence in the case.

On Tuesday, the second day of jury selection in federal court in Brooklyn, a woman in the jury pool said that she tends to believe women who accuse men of sexual abuse. "Statistically," she told Judge Ann Donnelly, women don't often report sexual assault that didn't happen.

Donnelly asked the woman, who works in theater and indicated she had friends who were taken advantage of by men who had "more clout," if she'd be able to disregard those feelings and remain impartial in the case.

The woman said she could, and she remains in the jury pool.

The trial of R. Kelly - whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly - will involve extensive testimony and evidence related to sexual abuse.

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn have accused Kelly and people he employed of running a criminal enterprise where they recruited women and girls for the singer to have sex with and abuse, making pornographic videos out of some of those experiences. Kelly has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him.

A man in the jury pool who was also questioned Tuesday noted his tendency to believe that women are frequently sexually abused.

"It's hard to meet any woman who hasn't been a victim of some sort of harassment," the man, who worked in IT, told the court.

The man said he used to be a fan of Kelly's music, but the allegations of sexual violence against the entertainer had since turned him off.

"You don't know what the inspiration was," he said.

The man said he won't let his beliefs impact his ability to be impartial in the case, and he remains in the jury pool.

Narrowing the jury pool

Jury selection in the trial, which is expected to last about one month, kicked off Monday. Donnelly questioned 38 jurors, dismissing 13 of them.

One woman who said she believes most women don't lie about sexual abuse was dismissed from the jury pool Monday. Another woman who said an experience she had as a child would make it difficult to hear evidence in R. Kelly's case was excused.

On Tuesday, Donnelly continued to question potential jurors about their ability to be impartial when hearing the case. By the end of the day, the court had a pool of 50 qualified potential jurors.

Attorneys on Wednesday will begin to use their preemptory challenges to weed out potential jurors they believe might not be favorable to their side.

The judge hopes to have 12 jurors and at least six alternates to hear the case. Opening statements are scheduled for August 18.