R&B star R. Kelly faced a criminal trial jury for the first time in 13 years as federal prosecutors in New York on Wednesday began laying out a sweeping case of multiple sex-crime charges, including racketeering and trafficking of women and young girls. "This case is about a predator. That predator is the defendant,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Cruz Melendez, one of the three-member prosecution team, in her opening statement. But Kelly's lawyer scoffed at what she said was an effort to paint Kelly as a Mafia-like figure and warned jurors they'll have to sift through lies from accusers with agendas to find the truth. Kelly has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.