R. Kelly Was Convicted Of Child Pornography Charges In A Federal Trial In Chicago

And in the end, a federal jury in Chicago believed her. They believed her testimony that she was the one in the graphic videos directed by the Grammy-winning singer, a man twice her size. They could believe their ears when they heard Jane’s strong, heartbreakingly young voice refer to her “14-year-old” genitalia. And they believed their own eyes to finally determine, in a court of law, that Kelly was guilty. In a split verdict after a hotly contested trial, a federal jury convicted Kelly of child pornography charges for making three videotapes of himself sexually abusing Jane since the late 1990s. The charges Kelly was convicted of carry a minimum of 10 years in prison. The conviction on those charges comes 14 years after Kelly’s infamous acquittal on similar charges in Cook County, which were based on a video of Kelly abusing Jane in the hot tub of his former West George Street home. Jane had refused to cooperate in that case. Kelly also pleaded guilty Wednesday to three of five counts of solicitation of a minor involving Jane, as she was known at trial, and two other victims who came forward to testify against him. A courtroom sketch of defense attorney Jennifer Bonjean, left, and her client R. Kelly at the U.S. Dirksen Courthouse in Chicago on September 14, 2022. (Cheryl Cook/Chicago Tribune) But in a rare loss for federal prosecutors, the jury acquitted Kelly and two co-defendants of shocking charges that they conspired to recover incriminating tapes and set up his 2008 trial by pressuring Jane to lie to investigators about their relationship and to refuse to testify against him. The jury of seven women and five men also acquitted Kelly and his two former associates, Derrell McDavid and Milton “June” Brown, of conspiring to obtain the video shown in court. Jurors apparently decided that while the videos they saw were authentic, they couldn’t say beyond a reasonable doubt that Kelly’s team planned to get them back or even knowingly obtained them. Kelly was also found not guilty of filming himself with Jane in a video that jurors never saw. Prosecutors said “Video 4” was not played because Kelly’s team successfully buried it, but defense attorneys disputed whether it existed at all. The long-awaited verdict came after a five-week trial with about 34 witnesses. The jury deliberated for about 11 hours over two days before the verdict was announced in Dirksen’s grand ceremonial courtroom. Dressed in a blue suit and tie and dark glasses, Kelly, 55, stared straight ahead and had no noticeable reaction to the jury’s decision. His lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, pumped a fist and rubbed Kelly’s back as some of the “not guilty” verdicts were read. Kelly and McDavid, 61, were acquitted of conspiring to obstruct justice in the Kelly Cook County case in 2002. The two men were also acquitted of receiving child pornography. All three defendants, including Brown, 56, were acquitted of conspiracy to receive child pornography. R. Kelly’s former business manager, Derrel McDavid, from left, and attorneys Beau Brindley and Vadim Glozman stand before the media at U.S. Dirksen Court in Chicago following verdicts in Kelly’s trial on September 14, 2022. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Step) As he was found not guilty of the last of the charges against him, McDavid shot up from his seat in the middle of the courtroom and pumped both fists toward the ceiling. Later, he hugged Kelly from across the defense table and appeared to whisper something in her ear. After court, McDavid’s attorneys asked U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber if their client could remove the ankle monitor given his complete acquittal. The judge said he wasn’t even sure of the process. “That doesn’t happen often,” Leinenweber said. “But it must be done immediately.” As the lawyers packed up, McDavid said, “I’m buying the drinks tonight!” Kelly, who has been in custody since his July 2019 arrest in Chicago, was led to the lockup by deputy US marshals. A sentencing date was not immediately set. U.S. Attorney John Lausch told reporters Wednesday that Kelly could face 10 to 90 years behind bars and that prosecutors will ask that his sentence be served consecutively to the 30 years he already received for conspiracy to commit racketeering in New York federal case. “When we have cases where defendants are convicted of committing horrific acts against other individuals, and it’s separate and apart from other horrific acts they committed against other individuals, we ask that it (the sentence) be consecutive,” Laus said. In the lobby of Dirksen’s U.S. Courthouse after court, Bonzan told reporters she was glad to see the jury was able to make decisions on each count separately. “They did their job, looked at each count individually and apparently concluded, as I concluded a long time ago, that this case was overcharged,” he said. Bonjean said Kelly “is used to bad news” but knows he has “more fights to fight, including an appeal of his conviction and sentence in New York and possibly an appeal in Chicago as well. “What he said is that he had a sense of relief that this particular case was not in the future, it was in the past now,” Bonjean said. Bonjean also said she believed McDavid and Brown were charged only to try to get them to cooperate with investigators. R. Kelly’s defense attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, speaks to the media at Dirksen U.S. District Court in Chicago after the verdicts in Kelly’s trial on September 14, 2022. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune) “Absolutely. That’s how government runs,” Bonjean said. “They don’t even believe in their own evidence, so they have to put pressure on other people to try to get them to overturn. That’s exactly what happened. And I’m glad they got it. You know , that didn’t work out for them.” Bonjean also said prosecutors “spoiled” by charging that Kelly abused a victim, Brittany, even though she didn’t come forward to testify. Lausch disputed that, however, telling reporters it was an “absolutely fair charge” given the abuse Brittany allegedly suffered and that his office would “bring it back tomorrow.” Lausch said he declined to say why Brittany did not testify. Moments before Laus spoke, a beaming McDavid stood next to his lawyers, Bo Brindley, Vadim Glozman and Michael Thompson. Bridley said the verdict showed the case against his client should never have been brought in the first place. “We’re thankful for these jurors who can see that when a lie is told on the witness stand, it’s not going to be admissible,” Brindley said. “The witnesses chose to lie, implicate this man and drag him into this experience from 2019 to the present. Now it’s over.” Brown left the courthouse without comment. The verdict marked a dramatic conclusion to a case that erupted on July 11, 2019, when Kelly was arrested while walking his dog on federal charges filed simultaneously in Chicago and New York. The case suffered many delays as it wound its way to trial, including the COVID-19 pandemic that pushed the trial date back several times. During the five-week trial, jurors were shown excerpts from three separate videos allegedly showing Kelly abusing Jane, including the same tape from his trial in Cook County as well as another where he instructed her to repeatedly in her “14-year-old” genitals. Last month, Jane testified for the first time that not only was she the one on the videotapes, but that Kelly sexually abused her “countless” times when she was underage, in his recording studio, at his home, on tour buses and in a hotel. rooms. Asked on the witness stand why, after two decades of silence, she had finally decided to come forward and speak, Jane said: “I’m tired of living with (Kelly’s) lies.” In her final discussion Tuesday, Bonjean spoke at length about Kelly’s relationship with Jane and her family, which continued well beyond her alleged abuse as a minor and, according to Bonjean, was approved by her parents . “It’s an uncomfortable reality for the government,” Bonjean said. “Lives are complicated, and despite all the punches and rage, this family made a decision that they had to live with at the time.” Jane’s parents lied to the grand jury about her sexual relationship with the singer because they “didn’t care”, Bonjan said. “He was 17 and they didn’t care … They forgave it.” Bonjean noted that when the 2019 Lifetime documentary series “Surviving R. Kelly” aired, Jane contacted Kelly repeatedly but never tried to influence her in any way. “He changed his phone number,” she said. “Shut up on her. This is the most unconcerned person about obstruction I have ever seen.’ In rebuttal, however, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeannice Appenteng said the evidence was clear that Kelly was a serial sexual predator and that his co-defendants made the decision to help him cover it up to keep his career intact and keep their pockets. “What R. Kelly wanted was to have sex with young girls,” Appenteng said. “And what the people around him wanted…they wanted to help their boss, including getting away from him.” Appenteng also urged the jury to pay particular attention to Jane’s testimony and the videotapes of her abuse. “You saw how (Kelly) used her body, bounced her, threw her around like she was a rag doll,” Appenteng says. “That’s what this case is.” In addition to Jane, three other women told jurors he sexually assaulted them when…