Jurors began deliberating Tuesday at R. Kelly's federal trial in Chicago, sorting through a month of evidence and arguments to weigh charges accusing the singer of producing child pornography, enticing minors for sex and successfully rigging his 2008 child porn trial.
A day after prosecutors delivered their closing argument, Kelly's lead attorney made hers. Standing at a podium a few feet in front of jurors, Jennifer Bonjean said key government witnesses were admitted liars who testified with immunity to ensure they couldn't be charged.
As Bonjean spoke, Kelly, wearing a gray suit and black mask, looked calm at a nearby defense table. He appeared to shake his head slightly a few times while a prosecutor spoke. “When you are in the quiet of the jury room, consider the evidence in light of who is at the center of this case. Kelly's victims: Jane, Nia, Pauline, Tracy and Brittany,” Appenteng said, referring to five Kelly accusers named in charging documents by their psydonyms or first names.The prosecutor also pointed to testimony that as Kelly's fame boomed in the mid-1990s, his staff and associates increasingly geared everything they did to what Kelly wanted.
Bonjean said some witnesses who testified with immunity hadn't come to the courthouse in Chicago, Kelly's hometown, to tell the unvarnished truth.Among others, Bonjean cited Kelly ex-girlfriend Lisa Van Allen, who testified about how she stole a sex tape from a Kelly gym bag in the early 2000s. She also pointed to former Kelly merchandizing agent Charles Freeman, who testified that he asked Kelly for $1 million in exchange for returning another, potentially incriminating, video.
Bonjean twice called for a mistrial Monday, complaining that closing arguments by attorneys for Kelly co-defendants Derrell McDavid and Milton Brown were grounded in the presumption that “the world now knows Mr. Kelly is a sex predator.” Kelly and McDavid, the singer's former business manager, are accused of fixing Kelly's 2008 trial on state child porn charges by intimidating and paying off witnesses.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Prosecutor: R. Kelly 'degraded' girl for his 'sick pleasure'R. Kelly parlayed his fame as an R\u0026amp\u003BB superstar to sexually abuse minors and record that abuse on video, a prosecutor told jurors Monday.
Read more »
Closing arguments set for R. Kelly trial on fixing chargesR. Kelly trial for fixing 2008 child pornography trial going straight to closing arguments, without prosecution presenting witnesses to rebut defense
Read more »
Closing arguments set for R. Kelly trial on fixing chargesClosing arguments are scheduled Monday for R. Kelly and two co-defendants in the R&B singer's trial on federal charges of trial-fixing, child pornography and enticing minors for sex, with jury deliberations to follow.
Read more »
Alex Jones faces second trial over Sandy Hook hoax claimsIt’s the second such trial for Jones, who was ordered by a Texas jury last month to pay nearly $50 million to the parents of one of the slain children
Read more »
Prosecutor says R. Kelly ‘degraded’ girl for his ‘sick pleasure’Prosecutor says R. Kelly ‘abused many girls over many years’ during closing argument
Read more »
Adopt Me: Jerry wants all the snugglesHe gets along with humans but may be skittish around other animals
Read more »