If he should and if he will is a more appropriate question.
Kelly prosecutors bear heavy burden
Alleged victim's lack of cooperation cited
By Stacy St. Clair | Tribune reporter
May 5, 2008
As jury selection begins later this week in the R. Kelly child pornography trial, the high-profile case will be missing a key component of most criminal prosecutions: A victim.
The 41-year-old singer, whose real name is Robert Kelly, faces charges stemming from a 15-minute videotape that authorities say was made with a girl as young as 13 sometime between Jan. 1, 1998, and Nov. 1, 2000. The singer has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The girl whom authorities identified as the teen in the raunchy sex tape denied her involvement to a grand jury in 2002, and her stance has not wavered in the years since his indictment, according to court records. Court documents also suggest
she may testify on Kelly's behalf during the trial, a move that may further complicate an already difficult prosecution.
For jurors to give the charges serious consideration, experts say prosecutors must portray the alleged victim, now 23, as a liar. While not a common courtroom maneuver, the prosecution will try to counter her claims with the testimony of the woman's friends and relatives—including one woman who is set to publicly say that she had a three-way sexual encounter with the R&B superstar and the alleged victim.
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