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R. Kelly's 'Unfinished Business' (Sextape Related)

white_teawhite_tea 3,262 Posts
edited June 2007 in Strut Central
R. Kelly saga marks 5 years[/b]June 5, 2007By Abdon M. Pallasch, Chicago Sun-TimesFive years.It was five years ago today that a Cook County grand jury indicted R&B superstar R. Kelly on 21 counts of child pornography for allegedly videotaping himself engaging in sex acts with an underage girl.The case has raised eyebrows for the length of time it's taking to get to trial. No trial date has been set[/b], though last month, Circuit Court Judge Vincent Gaughan told prosecutors and Kelly's lawyers to draft questions for potential jurors. That's a signal the case might finally be ready for trial this fall.The American Bar Association says criminal cases should be resolved within a year. Michael Jackson was charged, tried and acquitted of child molestation charges since Kelly was indicted. Martha Stewart was charged, tried, convicted and served her sentence."We have been ready for trial for a long time and continue to be ready for trial," State's Attorney Dick Devine said in February. The girl, who allegedly was 14 when the tape of her and Kelly was made, will celebrate her 23rd birthday in September[/b]. The longer the trial is delayed, the less she will look like a vulnerable teenager when she testifies."It's ridiculous that it has taken five years to get to trial," New England School of Law professor Wendy Murphy said. "There's no excuse for it. But this is a tried-and-true tactic when it comes to sex-crimes cases -- 'victory by delay.' Witnesses end up moving away. They die. You tend to see a lot of delays for defendants who are wealthy. You don't tend to see a lot of delays when the defendant is a poor kid from the inner city."Kelly is one of the most successful recording artists to come out of Chicago. The charges have not stopped him from selling 8 million CDs over the last five years. His latest CD, "Double Up," debuted last week.Kelly's lawyers, led by Edward Genson, have said they need to examine the evidence and credentials of prosecution experts who will contend that the videotape is authentic. Kelly's experts will challenge its authenticity. Both sides spent years arguing about the timeframe in which the tape was made. Genson recently has been busy defending former press baron Conrad Black in a federal trial, and Gaughan has been tied up in the Brown's Chicken murder trial. "In more than 35 years observing criminal proceedings in Illinois, I have never seen a non-capital case take this long,"[/b] Devine spokesman John Gorman said, adding Kelly's lawyers have filed 30 motions over the five years."You see this in death penalty cases, a murder case, but a sex crimes case? This is a long time. It just seems both sides intend to take their time," said Laurie Levenson, a law professor at Loyola University of Los Angeles."Rob is looking forward to his day in court, and he's confident when all the facts come out he's going to be shown to have not been guilty of any crime," Kelly spokesman Allen Mayer said.

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