R Kelly to be tried for child pornography

LoyaltyisaCurse · August 2nd, 2007, 11:45 AM

Quote:

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Grammy Award-winning R&B singer R Kelly will go on trial September 17 on child pornography charges, five years after the accusations were first made, prosecutors said on Wednesday.

Kelly, 40, whose real name is Robert Kelly, faces up to 15 years in jail if convicted of videotaping himself having sex with an underage girl. Prosecutors have said the girl could have been as young as 13, but defense attorneys have disputed her age and whether Kelly is on the tape. The underground videotape was widely circulated.

Kelly pleaded not guilty to the charges and in the interim has released hit songs, gone on tours, and released a DVD set of "hip-hopera" skits.
Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan said jury selection would begin September 17.

The trial was delayed, in part, by arguments over when the video was made. It was also pushed back because the judge fell and broke bones and needed to recuperate

Its about freaking time! Must be nice to be rich and skate on such serious charges!

Gaddabout · August 2nd, 2007, 12:38 PM

I don't understand. I am definitely pro-prosecution of sex offenders and child pornographers, but if they don't know the age of the girl when the video was shot, how can they prosecute? What does the girl say?

Mulli · August 2nd, 2007, 12:40 PM

That guy's MTV opera is the reason he should be put away.

"Then I picked up the cover, and there was a rubber."

Lock him up.

Rivercard · August 2nd, 2007, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mulli

That guy's MTV opera is the reason he should be put away.

"Then I picked up the cover, and there was a rubber."

Lock him up.

25 years in the slammer for impersonating an artist sounds reasonabe.

LoyaltyisaCurse · August 2nd, 2007, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gaddabout

I don't understand. I am definitely pro-prosecution of sex offenders and child pornographers, but if they don't know the age of the girl when the video was shot, how can they prosecute? What does the girl say?

In 2006 the girl was 21 years old and:

Quote:

The hitmaker has been fighting charges of making child pornography since he was arrested in 2002. The girl in the tape, which was made between 1998 and 2000, could have been as young as 13 years old, prosecutors claim.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/...&entry_id=5973

That puts the girl anywhere from 13 to 15 when the tape was made...