R. Kelly, the Grammy-winning R&B artist, was found not guilty by Friday at his child pornography trial, acquitting him on all 14 counts. The jury reached the verdict after less than a day of deliberations.
Kelly, who returned to the Chicago courthouse Friday morning, was charged with 14 counts of videotaping himself having sex with an underage girl, who prosecutors say was as young as 13. If convicted, he faced up to 15 years in prison.
Kelly and the alleged victim, now 23, deny being on the tape. Neither of them testified at trial.
The jurors were given the alleged sex tape, which was at the center of the trial, in order for them to view it during their deliberation.
The prosecution played that exact 27-minute tape in the courtroom with the lights off and blinds dimmed.
At one point in the video, entered into evidence as "People's Exhibit No. 1," the female dances and urinates on the floor as the man was out of view. The man walks back into view and then has sex with her. In one scene near the end of the video, the man urinates on the female. At another point, the man hands her money.
"The one person who is responsible is sitting right here," Assistant State's Attorney Shauna Boliker said, pointing at Kelly. "What you know now is that this is not a whodunit, but a he-did-it."
Over seven days presenting their case, prosecutors called 22 witnesses, including several childhood friends of the alleged victim and four of her relatives who identified her as the female on the video.
Over two days, Kelly's defense team called 12 witnesses, including three relatives of the alleged victim who testified they did not recognize her as the female on the tape.
About YourFindit
YourFindit Community provides Musicians and Artists as well as Music Producers, Recording Studios, Venue Owners and other members of the Music Community the ability to create a detailed profile and network with other members within the community. Members can upload their music, videos, events, blogs, pictures, background information, news as well as additional information that could further attract new fans to their music. Musicians and Artists who already have an account through TransWorldNews/Finditt can simply sign in with their same username and password and their uploaded content will appear in their profile.
To create your account simply sign up and within minutes you too can have a Music networking profile that attracts new members daily. Exclusive Ad Profiles are available to all members, preventing outside advertisers from appearing on your profile pages with the exception being ads within your network. Members can also select from content such as news and pull in the categories they select to display on their page. Sign Up and Create YourFindit profile where Your space is really Your Space.
Join the brand-new social networking community, YourFindit, and create your profile
