R. Kelly Trial
Chicago
It's been six years since R. Kelly was first charged with filming himself having sex with a
girl as young as 13. Jury selection has finally begun in his case. Authorities say it could take a week fo find 16 jurors who haven't been tainted by the publicity. The Grammy-award winning artist's video had been bootlegged and distributed all over the internet.
Kelly was briefly married to his protege Aaliyah, tying the knot with the teen idol in 1994, when she was just 15. The marriage was annulled by her parents, and the Brooklyn-born songstress and actress died in a plane crash in the Bahamas in 2001.
Allegations of Kelly's sexual activity with underage girls goes as far back as 1991, when several women claimed to have had sex with him.
The case has dragged on for six years without a trial and had originated with 21 counts of child pornography filed against him in 2002, for supposedly videotaping himself having sex with an alleged underage girl. Seven of the charges were dropped due to statute of limitations though the singer still faces 14 of the charges. Kelly, 41, has pleaded not guilty to the charges and faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Kelly's trial was to start on February 7, 2007, but he had to undergo surgery for a burst appendix. His trial date was then rescheduled for February 21.
It had previously been announced by the court that the videotape that allegedly shows Kelly performing sex acts with an underage girl will be publicly shown as evidence in the trial.
The trial was delayed again due to disputes over the video tape. Then the sitting judge fell, resulting in broken bones, and needed to recuperate from his injuries. The trial was then set for September 17, 2007. It was delayed again.
It has been announced by the Chicago Sun Times that the prosecution will present an adult woman to the case who will testify to have had sexual intercourse with Kelly and the alleged underage girl on the tape. After a defense motion to further delay proceedings was dismissed by the judge, the trial began on May 9 with the start of jury selection. News reports state the trial could last between several weeks and months.
The state rested its case after Van Allen's testimony. Jurors will get Tuesday off before the defense begins its presentation on Wednesday.
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http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iDHEsJvok63RTREnCfLXu2ZvefDgD912841G0 No longer availabe
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080509/ts_alt_afp/entertainmentusmusicpeopletrialkelly No longer availabe
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._Kelly
UPDATES...
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06/13/08
R. Kelly Acquitted
R. Kelly Not Guilty On All Counts
Just as I had read the news that one juror sent a note to the judge to be removed from deliberations, I received more news that R. Kelly was acquitted of all charges.
The verdict was read just after 2 p.m. central time at the Cook County Criminal Court Building in Chicago.
The jury of nine men and three women deliberated for 7 ½ hours before finding Kelly not guilty on all 14 counts.
"R. Kelly was found not guilty because they had the best jury that Cook County could produce," said Kelly's attorney Sam Adam Jr. "Two things happened today. R. Kelly got his name back and [his goddaughter] never had to lose hers," Adam said.
Resource...
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-r-kelly-verdict-webjun14,0,6207875.story
06/12/08
Jury Deliberations Begin
R. Kelly: Another suit in the works?
Closing arguments were given in the R. Kelly pornography case, Thursday.
Prosecutors played the pornographic tape for the jurors to make their argument that it is R. Kelly in the tape, having sex with an under-aged girl. The defense reiterated that it was neither Kelly or the alleged victim in the tape. They also said if jurors decide Kelly is guilty, they will be branding her "a whore."
Meanwhile, R. Kelly has been slapped with another lawsuit, this time by a former employee who claims bequeathing his dance moves to Kelly made the singer a success.
In a lawsuit filed yesterday in Cook Circuit Court, Henry Vaughn claims he inspired the "Trapped in the Closet" crooner to engage in the "stepping" moves that are now a signature trademark of Kelly's performances. He is demanding, in return, a cut of the star's bank account.
Resource details...
http://www.nypost.com/seven/06122008/news/nationalnews/r_kelly_sex_trial_goes_to_jury_115220.htm
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b142548_kelly_two-steps_back_court.html
06/11/08
Closing Arguments
Closing arguments start on Thursday for the R. Kelly trial.
More news...
http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2008/06/11/Testimony_ends_in_R_Kelly_trial/UPI-77291213192279/
http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2008/06/r_kelly_trial_scandalized_by_sextap.html
06/10/08
Jurors Can View Sex Tape again
R. Kelly won't be testifying
It's not a big shock that R. Kelly won't be testifying in his own behalf in his child pornography trial. He spoke for the first time Tuesday, and said to Judge Vincent Gaughn, "I decided not to testify."
Kelly's lawyers tried to bar the jurors from seeing the sex tape during their upcoming deliberations, but the prosecutions said the tape is the primary subject of the trial and shouldn't be kept from the jurors.
The judge ruled that they can view the tape.
Prosecutors are scheduled to call two rebuttal witnesses. Closing arguments are likely to be delivered Thursday.
Resources...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080610/ap_en_mu/r_kelly_trial No longer available
http://www.myfoxchicago.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=6736958&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.1.1
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iDHEsJvok63RTREnCfLXu2ZvefDgD917B0C00
06/09/08
Defense Rests
Alleged victim doesn't take the stand in the R. Kelly Trial
After only 2 days of testimony, the defense rested their case. Speculation was ended that either the parents of the alleged victim, or the victim, herself, would take the stand.
After court proceedings got underway, 40 minutes after the usual start time, defense attorney Ed Genson read two stipulations to the jury before stating the defense rested its case.
Genson said that if personal injury attorney William “Buddy” Myers testified, he would say that the alleged victim’s relatives contacted him about representation, and that he was never in possession of the video.
Myers’ testimony would impeach Stephanie “Sparkle” Edwards, the alleged victim’s aunt. Edwards testified that Myers contacted her in December 2001, claimed he had the tape and sent an associate with the tape to her home for review.
While the defense has rested, the jury will hear testimony Tuesday from two rebuttal witnesses for the prosecution: a forensic video expert who previously testified and an Atlanta assistant district attorney.
Closing arguments are expected to begin June 12.
Read story details...
http://www.chicagodefender.com/view.php?I=1042
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j4MgkrX7lJT09fZ1pG5WDbH_ia8gD916RAQO0 No longer availabe
06/04/08
Extortion Attempted Testimony
Lisa Van Allen was a star witness in the R. Kelly pornography-rape trial this week when she said she had several threesomes with Kelly and the under-aged girl seen on the video tape that is in question. Now there's been testimony that there was an attempted extortion to get $300,000 from Kelly in exchange for his girlfriend's silence.
Another forensic video analyst, Charles Palm, testified that a mole spied on the back of the man in the tape was actually a shadow that disappeared and reappeared depending on the lighting in the frame.
He also testified that he thinks the tape had been edited, and he demonstrated how easy it was to manipulate such images, showing the jury several frames he had doctored himself.
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http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iDHEsJvok63RTREnCfLXu2ZvefDgD9148A500 No longer availabe
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b141354_kelly_pi_witness_wanted_hush_money.html No longer availabe
06/04/08
No Testimony From Reporter
Family Responds to Tape
After not showing up on Tuesday as ordered, and then subpoenaed to be in court today, he finally showed up to testify without the presence of the jury.
He was on the stand for about 10 minutes and answered each question citing an Illinois law governing "reporter's Privilege" and his First and Fifth Amendment rights.
All he said was, "I respectfully decline to answer that question on the advice of counsel on the grounds that to do so would contravene the reporter privilege, the special witness doctrine and my rights under the Illinois Constitution as well as the First and Fifth Amendments of the United States Constitution."
The judge, who yesterday had threatened to issue an arrest warrant for DeRogatis for ignoring the order to appear, decided to let DeRogatis off the hook, noting his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
However, Gaughan did give DeRogatis until the end of the day to surrender his notes from an interview with defense witness Stephanie "Sparkle" Edwards. The judge, who wants to review the notes before deciding whether to admit them into evidence, dismissed arguments by the Sun-Times lawyer that the Fifth Amendment covered such material.
According to an AP report, the defense in the R. Kelly child pornography trial has accused a key prosecution witness who testified earlier this week of soliciting $300,000 from the R&B singer in exchange for her silence.
So far, seven family members of the alleged victim have testified — four prosecution witnesses who said earlier that they recognized the woman, and three who said Wednesday that they did not.
Read resource details...
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b141051_kelly_reporter_off_hook.html
http://www.wqad.com/Global/story.asp?S=8432730&nav=1sW7
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iDHEsJvok63RTREnCfLXu2ZvefDgD913IVHG2 No longer availabe
06/02/08
Prosecution Rests - No Trial Tuesday
R. Kelly mole apparent to forensics specialist
The prosecution's key witness, Lisa Van Allen, was finally on the witness stand on Monday.
She testified that Kelly took her to his former home on the North Side of Chicago, where she met the alleged victim in this case for the first time. Kelly taped them while they had three-way sex in his "log-cabin" room, she said. That's the same room he's alleged to have filmed the tape in this case. Kelly told her the alleged victim was 16, she said.
She said she was not there when the tape at the center of this case was made, but identified the alleged victim and Kelly as being on that tape.
Jurors last week watched a 4-by-4 foot monitor where freeze frames of the man's back were shown. And there, just above his waistline, was a mark that forensics expert Grant Fredericks said appeared to be a mole. He compared the frames with 2002 police photos of Kelly's back, concluding the spots were "in the exact same position."
The testimony was among the most dramatic yet in the three-week-old trial and potentially the most damaging for Kelly. It seemed the defense had been caught in a trap they'd set themselves, and Kelly and his lawyers appeared disheartened as they looked on.
Read full resource details...
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/music/la-et-rkelly-02june02,0,3523152.story?page=1&track=rss
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080602/ap_en_mu/r_kelly_trial;_ylt=AnBjA1mdg5LX7AG7Ve3sNlMIHL8C
http://blogs.suntimes.com/rkelly/2008/06/van_allen_we_had_threeway_sex.html
05/30/08
Sun-Times Reporter Must Testify
DeRogatis is ordered to testify in R. Kelly case
DeRogatis passed the notorious sex tape at the center of the case to police for investigation in 2002, and Kelly's attorneys say it is "crucial" to the singer's defense that DeRogatis testify.
In court Friday, Sun-Times attorney Damon Dunn argued that the Illinois reporter's shield law and the First Amendment protecting DeRogatis from being forced to testify, the Sun-Times reported in its "Kelly's Chronicles" Blog about the trial.
Gaughan said the state shield law, which protects journalists from being forced to identify confidential sources, does not apply in this instance, since he would not allow the defense to identify the source of the tape, how he got it, or whether he made a copy. Defense attorneys in a previous court session suggested that making a copy of the tape would itself be a criminal act covered by child pornography laws.
Read resource article details...
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003810273
http://blogs.suntimes.com/rkelly/2008/05/judge_rules_derogatis_must_tes.html
05/29/08
Mystery witness revealed
R. Kelly witness won't give Prosecution SSN
According to the Kelly chronicles, on the Suntimes News Group, Damon Pryor, aka the mystery witness, won't give his social security number to the prosecution for some unknown reason, further delaying the testimony of a potentially crucial state's witness.
Judge Gaughan told Heilingoetter, "If he doesn't give you his social security number, he's going to be in major trouble. All right?"
An FBI forensic expert testified Thursday that the male and female in a sex tape at the heart of the R. Kelly child pornography trial weren't computer-generated or altered.
The defense maintains the R&B star is not the man in the video and has repeatedly suggested that his likeness could have been computer-generated onto the 27-minute tape.
Read detailed resources...
http://blogs.suntimes.com/rkelly/2008/05/mystery_witness_refuses_to_giv.html
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iDHEsJvok63RTREnCfLXu2ZvefDgD90VIGOG4 No longer available
05/28/08
Mystery Witness Disrupts Court Proceedings
R. Kelly Trial Delayed
Judge Vincent Gaughan adjourned the trial of R. Kelly after the defense said they received a phone call from an unnamed person who claimed to have information that could help the defenses case.
Little is known about the potential witness, save for the fact that he may possibly offer testimony to contradict one of the prosecution's star witnesses, an Atlanta woman who had been set to take the stand today and testify that she had a threesome with Kelly and an underage girl. That woman's testimony has since been postponed.
The judge said the trial would be postponed until both legal teams have the chance to depose the new witness.
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http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iDHEsJvok63RTREnCfLXu2ZvefDgD90UUK9G0 No longer availabe
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b139634_surprise_witness_halts_kelly_trial.html No longer availabe
05/27/08
Defense Proving Reasonable Doubt?
The Braces Defense
Alexandra Guerro, and investigator with the Cook county state's attorney's office, was called to the stand this morning to describe R. Kelly's North Side home, where the alleged sex tape was made.
The defense may be suggesting that Guerro's description of the home could be key to establishing whether Kelly owned the home at the time he's alleged to have made the tape.
Raven Gengler, the friend of the alleged victim, took the stand for the prosecution. Gengler testified that she recognized the alleged victim in the tape and also Robert Kelly from their faces and their voices.
Upon cross examination, Gengler was less certain of whether she told investigators she recognized Kelly's voice, but indicated that it was possible.
Then Adam put to her the key question of the session: How was it possible that on March 24, 2002, she told investigators she recognized Kelly's voice from the tape when, about a week later, she told the grand jury she'd never seen the tape?
He read from her grand jury testimony, given March 31, 2002, in response to the question of whether she had ever seen the tape: "No, thank God."
The defense showed a picture of the alleged victim wearing braces. A former family friend testified that the victim had braces in the late 1990s, about the time of the tapes.
The female participant, however, does not appear to be wearing braces in the video. Burnett testified the alleged victim wore braces at some point between 1997 and 1999, but she could not provide an exact date.
To read full details and see video...
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/music/la-et-rkelly27may27,0,618895.story?page=1
05/26/08
Defense Wants Privileged Testimony
R. Kelly Trial Resumes Tuesday
The judge in the R. Kelly pornography trial, will make a decision on Friday, May 30th, as to whether the defense Will be able to call a Chicago Sun-Times reporter to testify.
Reporter, Jim DeRogatis, is the reporter who received the sex tape that is in the center of this trial, in 2002.
The jury watched a 27 minute of a tape, last week, that allegedly featured R. Kelly having sex, and urinating on a young teen-ager, the defense pointed
Defense attorney, Sam Adam Jr., had asked the jury to watch for a fingernail sized mole on Kelly's back, that he said wasn't visible in the tape in question.
With another three weeks of testimony likely, and the defense yet to present its case, many questions remain unanswered.
Resource....
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/kelly/968983,CST-NWS-rkelly25.article
05/22/08
Star Witness Testifies
R. Kelly's ex-protégé Identifies Child On Tape
Stephanie "Sparkle" Edwards took the stand today as the state's star witness. She identified the underaged girl in the sex tape as her niece.
Edwards testified that in December 2001, she got a phone call from an attorney telling her that a relative of hers was on a sex tape she needed to see, at which point an associate of the attorney's came to her home and played her the tape. When she watched the recording, she said, she recognized her niece
"You know your blood," Sparkle said. "She's my niece. You just know your family. There's no denying it. ... She was my heart."
She testified that the tape had ended up dividing the family. "There was one side and another side," she said. The girl's mother, Sparkle's sister, didn't want to see the tape and didn't want to talk about it, she said.
Read resource details...
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1587989/20080522/kelly_r.jhtml
http://www.xxlmag.com/online/?p=21687
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b138743_friends_family_identify_alleged_kelly.html
05/21/08
Grilled like a burger
According to the Chicago Tribune, defense attorney Sam Adam Jr. grilled former best friend of the alleged victim during cross examination this afternoon, though at times he seemed to be getting as good as he gave.
Simha Jamison, 24, whose nickname is "Punky," stood her ground against the attorney, weathering attacks that questioned her memory, her previous testimony and her ability to discern doctored video footage.
Jamison conceded that in the hundreds of times she had seen Kelly and the alleged victim together, she never saw any sexual contact between them. And though she conceded her former best friend of 10 years never told her about a relationship with the R&B star, that didn't mean nothing ever happened between them.
In earlier testimony, Jamison said she recognized her friend in the sex tape from the haircut she was sporting at the time, a mullet. She said both girls had the same haircut when they were 13 or 14.
But Adam Jr. then showed a series of photos of the alleged victim dating back to early 1997. In pretrial hearings the prosecution had initially said the tape was made as early as 1997, but the judge narrowed the time frame after the Kelly's lawyers said it was too broad for mount a defense
"Now that is the very same year you may have seen the mullet on that video, right?" asked Adam Jr.
05/20/08
Pornography Tape shown to Jurors
This had to be an excrutiating day for the jury. The judge had already been embarrassed when reading R. Kelly's charges. Watching a 27 minute sex video, with an underaged child as a main performer had to be disgusting and embarrassing.
A girl walks in and the man presents her with an undisclosed amount of money. "Thank you" she says, and dances nude as the man urges, "Dance faster, baby," to background music from the Backstreet Boys and the Spice Girls.
The couple also engage in various sex acts
Lead prosecutor Shauna Boliker alleged that Kelly was a "pornographer" and said he was the man in the video, having sex with a child.
"A child doesn't choose to be violated and placed on a videotape, a videotape that will live on forever, long after this child becomes an adult," she said.
Read full resource details...
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jre42cpkxynG-g8zLXwpBL0EPQiA
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iDHEsJvok63RTREnCfLXu2ZvefDgD90PKEKO3 No longer availabe
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN2032948820080520
05/15/08
Race Issued Continue
Twelve Jurors Picked
Race issues continued by the defense Thursday, in the child pornography case against R. Kelly, when they accused the prosecution of intentionally rejecting minorities.
The objections came as prosecutors used their final two peremptory challenges to strike a black man and an Asian woman from the panel. The prosecution used four of their seven challenges to remove minorities during the selection process.
Kelly's attorney, Sam Adam, cried "foul" when Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan approved the state's attorneys request to remove a black man who lied about having spent time in jail. The man denied having a criminal history but later acknowledged a few run-ins with the law.
"Once again, it's another black juror they're trying to get rid of," Kelly attorney Sam Adam said.
Gaughan suggested the accusation was hypocritical, given the defense team used all seven of its challenges on white candidates.
The juror was dismissed, according to the prosecution, because the black an had been part of a class-action lawsuit against Cook County for illegal medical tests performed on him durin his incarceration. They said he could not be a fair juror, despite his assertions otherwise.
Jury selection is complete with 12 jurors and four alternates.
The judge told jurors that this is a trial that can last up to four weeks. It begins Tuesday at 11 a.m.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/chi-r-kelly-trial-jurors-may15,0,547672.story?page=1
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=6144125
05/14/08
Eight Selected So Far
Five more jurors were selected for the R. Kelly pornography trial today. So far the panel consists of 4 whites, and 4 Blacks, which consist of 5 men and 3 women.
Within the eight jurors is a 40 year old married man, teacher's assistant, criminal justice student , investment firm compliance officer, a man with prior jury experience, the wife of a Baptist preacher from R. Kelly's hometown, a business executive and a telecommunications company employee.
The criminal justice student said that R. Kelly's music was "old stuff", when asked if she was familiar with it. "I might know one or two of his songs, but that's about it," she said.
Resources...
http://www.wjbf.com/midatlantic/jbf/news_index/entertainment_news.apx.-content-articles-JBF-2008-05-14-0037.html
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/kelly/948344,CST-NWS-rkelly14.article
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/northwest/chi-r-kelly-trial-jurors-may14,0,2618436.story?page=1
05/13/08
Jury Selection
Three jurors were selected Tuesday for the high profile trial of R. Kelly, R&B singer.
Those jurors include an African-American woman whose husband is a Baptist pastor, a black man who identified himself as a Christian and a white executive who said he thinks Kelly is guilty, but he could give him a fair trial.
The questions touched on media coverage of the case and whether people with money get a better deal in the justice system.
Race became an issue more than once. When prosecutors moved to dismiss two potential jurors who were black, defense lawyer Ed Genson objected.
Assistant state's attorney Shauna Boliker noted that one of the potential jurors, a black woman, had seemed "star-struck" and had given "inappropriate" answers.
Resource and other reading...
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/kelly/945906,CST-NWS-rkelly13.article
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1587373/20080513/kelly_r.jhtml
http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2008/05/lawyers_begin_the_impossible_task_r_kelly.html
05/12/08
Jury Selection Continues
Video documentaries from the MTV.com site will give you detailed information on this high profile case.
Since Kelly is one of Chicago's favorite sons, it's going to be difficult for either side to find anyone unfamiliar with the case. They'd have to be "living under a rock," said Cron, who defended comedian Paula Poundstone on charges of lewd acts on a minor. What they can hope for, however, is to find potential jurors who have not yet made up their mind. Legal experts agree that there really is no such thing as an impartial jury — that every prospective juror brings to the table his or her own biases. The question then becomes: What kind of jurors would each side want? It's not quite as black-and-white as you might think.
"What makes for good TV is if we say, 'We want black,' 'We want white,' 'We want men,' 'We want women,' " Chicago jury consultant and defense attorney Paul Lisnek said. "And those factors do come into play, but what we have to look at is life experience. That's what's going to influence the way they respond to the evidence in the case, not just whether they are of one race or one religion or another. The bottom line is, cases like this trigger certain underlying issues, deep issues about racial prejudice and underage sexual relations."
Which means the defense and prosecution have to go more than skin-deep to find jurors sympathetic to their arguments and witnesses. Still, race will be a factor, given Chicago's makeup, especially in the South Side where the trial will take place.
Read detailed article and videos here....
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1587252/20080509/id_0.jhtml
Read full details of todays hearings....
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/chi-r-kelly-trial-testimony-may21,0,4715590.story
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1587852/20080521/kelly_r.jhtml
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iDHEsJvok63RTREnCfLXu2ZvefDgD90Q6ALO0 No longer available