Final arguments scheduled on R.Kelly trial on fixing charges
CHICAGO (AP)the closing arguments are scheduled for Tuesday to hear R. Kelly and two co-defendants in the R&B singer’s federal trial over charges of trial fixing child pornography, trial-fixing, and enticing minors to sex, and jury deliberations are scheduled to be held the following day.
A few minutes before the defense was allowed to rest late on Friday, Kelly’s co-defendant and former business manager Derrell McDavid were sentenced to three days on the witness stand. McDavid testified for three days that thought he had faith in Kelly when he said he was not abusing minors, but then claimed he began doubting Kelly’s credibility during the trial, which began in March.
Kelly McDavid and Kelly McDavid are accused of attempting to fix Kelly’s state-wide child pornography trial in which Kelly was found not guilty by intimidating witnesses and hiding video evidence. They are also facing charges related to child pornography. A third defendant, Kelly associate Milton Brown is accused of being a recipient of child pornography.
Prosecutors usually have the opportunity to summon witnesses in an attempt to counter the defense. However, when they informed the judge Harry Leinenweber that they needed time to prepare, he told them the case would have no response as the trial would move right to closing arguments on Monday morning.
McDavid was the sole among the defendants who could provide testimony on behalf of his own.
Kelly 55, who is a former police officer, received a sentence of 30 years of prison in June following an additional federal trial that took place in New York.
Famous for his hit song “I Believe I Can Fly” and for his sexy songs like “Bump n’ Grind,” Kelly sold millions of albums despite accusations of sexual misconduct that started being made public in the 1990s. A wave of outrage erupted following the #MeToo scandal and the docuseries 2019 “Surviving R. Kelly.”
During Kelly’s trial of a month in 2008, prosecutors from the state presented a 30-minute sexually explicit film several times on screens that were dotted throughout the courtroom. The prosecution claimed that it depicted Kelly sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl named “Jane.”
The current trial in the city of Kelly’s birth is, in a way, a re-run of the trial that took place in 2008. The video was the sole evidence at the core of the trial and will be on display at the present trial.
Jane who was then an adult didn’t appear in the trial of 2008 that jurors used as the reason why they could not indict Kelly. Jane testified in the present trial that she was the subject of the video. She also stated that Kelly was sexually assaulting her numerous times beginning at the age of 14.