The Tail on the Tape: R. Kelly Trial Set to Begin
Six years after R. Kelly was slapped with child pornography charges over a homemade sex tape, the rhythm and blues superstar’s long-delayed trial is set to begin Friday. The scandal over accusations that Kelly filmed himself having sex with a girl as young as 13.Complicating the case is the fact that the alleged victim, now 23, refuses to admit she is the girl in the raunchy tape, even though her friends, family and teachers identified her to a grand jury.
Prosecutors are expected to introduce a woman who will testify that she engaged in three-way sex with Kelly and the alleged victim, and have also asked the judge to allow them to introduce what they say is evidence of the crooner’s past crimes.
He was arrested in Florida in 2003 on child pornography charges after police found a camera with photographs allegedly showing Kelly having sex with an underage girl. Those charges were dropped after a judge ruled the camera was illegally seized.
Kelly was also 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.
The long-awaited trial has faced a number of delays, including when Kelly suffered from a burst appendix, the judge broke his shoulder falling off a ladder and a lead prosecutor gave birth. [Falling off a Ladder? Really?]
Kelly’s lawyers have also filed more than 30 motions, including efforts to have the case tossed out on constitutional grounds and to prevent an expert from testifying that sex abuse victims often refuse to admit to the abuse.
Kelly faces up to 15 years in jail if convicted of 14 charges of child pornography.
R. Kelly….call us if you need us.
Your pals at Busted!
