Nearly six years after R&B singer R Kelly was first arrested on child pornography charges stemming from a 15-minute videotape of himself engaging in sex acts with a girl, the trial finally appears ready to commence.
Repeated delays have pushed R Kelly’s child pornography
trial some six years but jury selection is set to begin Friday, May 9, in
The video that generated the string of events which bring us here today is a videotape allegedly showing the now 41-year-old singer having sex with a girl as young as 13. Law-enforcement officials say the video was made between Jan. 1, 1998, and Nov. 1, 2000.
Kelly has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The alleged victim is not helping prosecutors prove Kelly guilty. Now in her early 20s, the girl says the person on the tape is not her. Kelly himself says it is not him in the video.
The singer, real name Robert Kelly, faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Kelly’s lawyers have asked once again for a delay, arguing that the recent news coverage would hinder a fair trial. Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan has not ruled on the request yet, reports the Chicago Tribune.
He did hint though that jury selection would proceed as
planned Friday. The Tribune reports 150
Kelly was arrested in February 2002 after the videotape was sent to police by the Chicago Sun-Times. The paper said it had been sent the tape anonymously. Later that year, Kelly was charged with 21 counts relating to child pornography and released on $750,000 bail. Seven of the charges have been dropped in the meantime.
Several media outlets, including the Associated Press, argued in court on Thursday for access to sealed court records and transcripts in the case. The move was opposed by both prosecution and defence lawyers.
Kelly’s trial is of intense media interest and reporters
from all over the country, as well as from