R. Kelly Case Goes to the Jury
AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast
Sitting through reruns can be such a drag. Or it can just be really uncomfortable.
The eight-man, four-woman jury sitting in judgment of R. Kelly rewatched the sex tape at the center of the R&B star's child-pornography trial before beginning their deliberations Thursday.
As part of their closing argument today, prosecutors replayed the 27-minute video, which they allege features Kelly having intercourse with—and then urinating on—a girl who was only 13 or 14 years old at the time.
Kelly is "directing her to dance, where to stand, when to stop urinating," Assistant State's Attorney Robert Heilengoetter told the jury as the video played.
There were no shocking statements in either side's final summation of the case: The prosecution pressed for a conviction on all charges, which could land Kelly in prison for up to 15 years. The defense continued to argue that Kelly has been the victim of money-hungry acquaintances and is not the man on the tape.
Multiple witnesses—friends and relatives of the now 23-year-old alleged victim (who has since denied being the girl in the video) and former associates of Kelly's—have positively identified the "stars" of the home movie as Kelly and the female in question. Forensic video analysts also testified that it was highly unlikely the copy of the tape being used to prosecute Kelly was a fake.
Meanwhile, the Grammy winner's team put its own expert on the stand, and he pretty much said anyone can do anything with computers these days. A private investigator spoke on Kelly's behalf as well, saying the fiancé of the woman who attested to having a threesome with Kelly and the girl had tried to extort $300,000 from the singer to keep quiet.
"That's what this is about: money, money, money," defense attorney Sam Adam Jr. said during his closing argument.
The people who testified that it was Kelly on the tape, Adam continued, know it wasn't him—because "any solid man in that family, any solid woman in that family would have gone over there and broken his legs, would have gone over there and beat the crap out of him."
Deliberations kicked off Thursday afternoon. After about an hour and a half, jurors asked for a transcript of purported threesome participant and "star witness" Lisa Van Allen, per the Chicago Tribune.
Both sides objected, saying the request was unreasonable because it would take several hours to print out a copy and delete sidebar dialogue. The defense, meanwhile, is pulling for the jury to get a copy, while the prosecution thinks they should have to review a transcript of the entire trial or get nothing at all.
Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan sent the jury a note informing them that the transcript was not available at the time and that they should continue deliberating.
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