R.Kelly On Trial

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

R.Kelly On Trial

Man In Black · Anime Mod

They should lock him up for making those crappy songs and that hideous never-ending video.

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

In what could soon turn into the R.Kelly Chronicles, here's the next installment...

The first three jurors have been chosen for the US child pornography trial involving R&B star R Kelly.

A Baptist preacher's wife, a business executive and a telecoms worker were selected from the 15 potential jurors questioned in court in Chicago.

Altogether 16 people, including four "alternate" jurors, will be chosen.

The performer has denied filming himself engaging in sex acts with a girl, whom prosecutors say could have been as young as 13.

The executive - a middle-aged man - called child pornography "the lowest of the low" during questioning by the judge and lawyers.

But he said he felt he could give a fair trial to the 41-year-old singer.

"Laws of man"

The preacher's wife comes from Olympia Fields, where Mr Kelly lives, and insisted her religious beliefs would not affect her time as a juror.

The judge reminded her that the trial involved the "laws of man, not the laws of God," and she said she understood.

The telecoms worker, who is in his 50s, said he did not like seeing what he considered pornographic magazines at corner shops, but told the judge this would not influence the way he assessed the facts in the case.

He added that the only R Kelly song he knew was the 1997 hit I Believe I Can Fly.

Potential jurors who were dismissed included a man in his 50s whom prosecutors said was clearly awestruck by Mr Kelly's celebrity, plus a security guard who said Mr Kelly would have "some explaining to do" if he was on the video.

Twenty other potential jurors out of an initial pool of 150 are scheduled to face questions on the second day of selection, which is expected to take a week.

Mr Kelly was charged in 2002 with 21 counts relating to child pornography and released on $750,000 (£383,000) bail. Seven of the charges have since been dropped.

The singer faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

Man In Black · Anime Mod

The preacher's wife comes from Olympia Fields, where Mr Kelly lives, and insisted her religious beliefs would not affect her time as a juror.

The judge reminded her that the trial involved the "laws of man, not the laws of God," and she said she understood.

Yeah, right....

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

latest update in this distasteful trial

Jurors in US R&B star R Kelly's child pornography trial have watched the sex video at the centre of the case.

On the opening day of the trial in Chicago, prosecutors played the video of a man having sex with a young woman.

Prosecution lawyers allege the "vile" video is of Mr Kelly and a girl who was as young as 13 when it was filmed.

Mr Kelly denies filming himself having sex with an underage girl and his lawyer said the video showed neither him nor the alleged victim.

In Tuesday's opening arguments, prosecutor Shauna Boliker told the jury they would "see the sex acts he commands her to do".

"Acts you have never seen before. Vile, disturbing and disgusting sex acts, actions that were choreographed, produced and starred in by Robert Kelly."

'Grim-faced'

But defence lawyer Sam Adam Jr said the video, made between 1998 and 2000, was "at best a copy of a copy of a copy".

He said Mr Kelly had a significant mole on his lower back and that the man on the tape did not have the mole.

Mr Adam said neither the FBI nor "a single witness" could identify the man in the tape as Mr Kelly.

Mr Kelly sat grim-faced through the hearing, the Associated Press news agency reported.

The jurors in the Chicago court case were selected from an initial pool of 150.

They include a man who spent five days in jail for marijuana possession and the wife of a Baptist preacher.

Gagging order

On Friday, Judge Vincent Gaughan refused a media request for access to transcripts of any parts of the hearing held behind closed doors.

He also refused to lift a gagging order forbidding lawyers from talking about the case.

The judge said he was not trying to inhibit the press but wanted to guarantee a fair trial.

In 2002, Mr Kelly was charged with 21 counts relating to child pornography and was released on $750,000 (£383,000) bail. Seven of the charges have since been dropped.

Mr Kelly, whose hits include She's Got That Vibe and I Believe I Can Fly, faces up to 15 years in jail if convicted.

The girl, now 23, who is alleged to be in the crucial videotape, says it was not her in the footage.

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

An FBI forensic video expert has dismissed claims that a tape at the centre of the R Kelly trial could have been faked using special effects.

George Skaluae said he had examined the film and found it to show "real people in a real environment."

He was giving evidence at a courthouse in Chicago, where R Kelly is accused of filming himself having sex with an underage girl.

If convicted, the star faces up to 15 years in prison. He denies the charges.

Mr Skaluae, a forensic video examiner with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, has previously worked as an adviser to London's Metropolitan Police.

'Switch points'

He told the court how he was asked in 2002 to examine a VHS tape which had been retrieved by the Chicago Police Department.

Among his findings, Mr Skaluae said he found the tape to be "a copy, several generations away from the original."

He explained that the presence of multiple hidden "switch points" indicated it had been duplicated at least three times, causing a deterioration in quality.

The FBI investigator was also quizzed on whether the video could have been electronically doctored.

R Kelly's defence team has previously suggested their client may have been digitally "morphed" into the film.

Detectable

Mr Skaluae said that would be "very difficult and time consuming."

"If it is not done well then it is going to be detectable.

"Sometimes we look at effects in movies and laugh and say 'that doesn't look too good'. Those may have taken months or years."

The female who appears in the video has been identified by several friends and family members during the course of the trial.

Most have placed her at between 13 and 14 years of age.

R Kelly denies 14 counts of making and possessing child pornography.

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

The Prosecution has now rested, probably worn out in all honesty...

The prosecution has rested its case in R&B star R Kelly's child pornography trial after graphic testimony from its key witness.

In court, 27-year-old Lisa Van Allen alleged she had several sexual encounters with Kelly and the alleged victim, some of which were videotaped.

But the defence accused Ms Van Allen of plotting to extort money from Mr Kelly, a claim which she denied.

Mr Kelly denies filming himself having sex with an under age girl.

Ms Van Allen identified the girl in the videotape in question in the case, saying she looked "just exactly how I remember her".

'Thief and liar'

She alleged Mr Kelly offered her $250,000 (£127,000) to recover a tape of one of the trysts.

Ms Van Allen also told jurors the singer frequently filmed his sexual encounters, and would carry around a duffel bag filled with video tapes.

Under further questioning, although she denied extortion, she admitted she once stole a $20,000 (£10,000) diamond-studded watch belonging to Mr Kelly from a hotel.

"Van Allen is an admitted thief and liar who wouldn't know the truth if she tripped over it," Kelly's business manager, Derrel McDavid, said.

The defence will begin its presentation on Wednesday.

Mr Kelly is charged with 14 counts relating to child pornography in connection with a 26-minute video, believed to have been made between 1998 and 2000.

Mr Kelly, 41, whose hits include She's Got That Vibe and I Believe I Can Fly, faces up to 15 years in jail if convicted.

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

And now too has the Defence

Defence lawyers have concluded their case in the R Kelly child pornography trial in Chicago.

Court business was suspended early on Monday, as the hearing entered its third week.

The singer is charged with making a sex tape featuring himself and an underage girl.

The state is now expected to recall several of its witnesses, among them a forensic video expert called Grant Frederics.

He testified earlier that the man seen on tape bore a mole on his back, similar to one R Kelly has had since childhood.

The singer's lawyers disputed that, calling their own video expert to claim that no mole was visible.

Neither side has sought evidence from the girl said to appear in the video, aged 13 or 14.

She has previously denied being involved with the film.

There was speculation that the alleged victim, now 23, would appear for the defence.

Prosecution to end

Instead R Kelly's lawyers have chosen to focus on two main strategies.

They have described a conspiracy against the star which sought to incriminate him by using special effects technology to create a fake sex tape.

They have also focussed on the missing mole claim.

The prosecution case relies largely on the testimony of friends and family members of the young girl who say they were able to identify her from watching the video.

Closing arguments in the case are expected to take place on Thursday.

The jury will then retire to consider its verdict.

R Kelly denies 14 charges of making and owning child pornography.

If convicted, the 41-year-old faces up to 15 years in jail.

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

The Verdict is in....

A Chicago jury has acquitted US singer R Kelly of all 14 charges of child pornography against him.

He was found not guilty of making an explicit sex video that prosecutors had said showed him having sex with a girl as young as 13.

Both Mr Kelly and the alleged victim, now 23, denied they were the people shown on the tape, which the jury saw.

If found guilty, he had faced up to 15 years in prison. His hits include She's Got That Vibe and I Believe I Can Fly.

The Grammy award-winning singer, 41, was arrested in 2002 after the video was leaked to the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper.

The tape, 26-minutes long, showed a man having sex with an underage girl.

Conflicting testimony

The prosecution's chief witness was a woman who said she had had three-way sex with Mr Kelly and the alleged victim from the video, Associated Press news agency reported.

The defence attempted to discredit the witness, saying she had tried to extort money from Mr Kelly.

The defence argued that the man in the tape did not have a large mole on his back as does Mr Kelly, and that the tape could have been doctored.

An FBI expert told the court the tape was not faked but that it was a copy which had been duplicated several times.

During the trial, some relatives of the alleged victim testified that the girl on the tape was not their family member. Other relatives said they recognised the girl.

Man In Black · Anime Mod

Damn. I wanted to see him go down. As in serve a jail sentence not...erm...